The Legend of Fairy Tail Revised
by HylianHero5465
Summary: Fairy Tail, Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus. There are many guilds named after magical creatures, yet no one is really sure if these creatures even exist. But that might change when a green clad boy from another world falls into the lives of a certain Guild and brings along a tiny glowing companion. Revised version of my first Fair Tail Fic
1. A New Companion and a New Land

Do to new ideas and overall dissatisfaction with how I wrote my first Fairy Tail fic I decided to redo it and make some changes. The first couple of chapters are largely the same but have several parts edited/added for clarification and new story adjustments. Things really start to change around chapters 4 and 5. I haven't reached the same point in the storyline as my other fic so the last couple of chapters I wrote in the first story aren't present yet. They will be incorporated with heavy adjustments in the future. I hope you like the changes!

I'd also like to give a big thank you to everyone who graciously signed up to donate money on the artist donation page we all know about but whose name fanfiction won't allow anywhere on their site (which is kinda understandable). I really appreciate all of your support!

Also like to say thanks to Blazblade who has been constantly PMing about the progress on my stories and letting me use them as a sounding board.

With that said I'd like to present the new and (hopefully) improved:

The Legend of Fairy Tail

Chapter 1

A New Companion and a New Land

xxx

Link sighed and stretched his arms to the sky, a tired but contented grin on his face. His grand adventure in Termina had finally come to an end and after passing through the gate between worlds he once again found himself in the ancient forest he was originally traversing. He chuckled as Epona snorted beneath him at the sudden change in smell that assaulted her nostrils. The young Hylian also took a deep breath, inhaling the rich and comforting aroma that only the forest could give off. Having spent his early life growing up amongst the Kokiri, Link felt most at ease when surrounded by the dense trees. They reminded him of simpler times when he lived as a Kokiri, a child of the forest.

Lowering his arms with a relaxing breath he urged his faithful steed onward, delving deeper into the woods and resuming his original search for his long lost fairy partner. He didn't fear getting lost even in a forest with a name as disconcerting as the Lost Woods. It had, after all, at one point been part of his home. As the familiar atmosphere swirled around him, Link couldn't help but let his mind wander to his childhood and the years he spent as a Kokiri. He cherished the memories of those years and the experiences he had.

While Link had never quite fit in with the others he would never have guessed the grand destiny that fate had in store for him. He had always been a bit different than the other Kokiri and it hadn't just been because he didn't have a guardian fairy. He was more adventurous, energetic, and curious than the others. His curiosity often led to him wandering off and getting into trouble. Link was also physically stronger, faster, and more agile than his fellow forest children. All these factors and the fact that he didn't have a fairy meant the others usually treated him distantly. Sure he had friends and did things with the others but he was never fully accepted among them. His best friend, Saria, had been a tremendous blessing for his childhood. She was the only one who accepted him completely and accompanied him almost everywhere.

Another difference that separated him from the others, but was much less known, was the fact that he had a rather close relationship with the Great Deku Tree. He had spent many evenings with the ancient forest spirit listening to his tales and words of wisdom. The Deku Tree comforted Link when he was down, chastised him when he got in trouble, and praised when he deserved it. He was a true father figure to the future Hero of Time and his death had greatly affected the young Hylian.

While some of those times had been rough, Link wouldn't have changed anything. They had made him into the person he was and would become. Those years had laid the foundation for a hero to grow and it was a hero that had risen to face the evils threatening not one, but two worlds.

One would think that after all the good he had done and sacrifices he had made that the Heavens would grant the now young Hero of Time a small respite or some measure of reward. Perhaps what happened next could be counted as such, although if any were to bear witness to the event they would have called it a curse.

It started when the traveling pair entered an open glade, a rare but not unusual sight even this deep in the Lost Woods. Rays of sunlight unobstructed by the space in the canopy illuminated the area and fell upon beautiful flowers and plants that hungrily basked in the heavenly nourishment. Butterflies flitted from petal to petal and the air was thick with woodlights and fairyflies, a testament to the magic present in the ancient forest. Link smiled at the sight as memories of countless hours playing amongst the magical lights and glowing insects with the other Kokiri flowed through his mind. He watched idly as a particularly large woodlight floated through the air towards him in a lazy lilting path. The young hero tenderly reached out and let it alight upon his open palm before bring it closer to his face. He gazed fondly at the glowing manifestation of the forest before gently blowing it back into the air. His grin widened in amusement as the woodlight collided with another and both burst into several smaller ones that spread out on their own paths.

"EEK!"

A sudden scream jolted Link from his reverie and he snapped his head to the far side of the clearing where he saw a large ball of light wildly jerking about in midair. He blinked in surprise, instantly recognizing the light for what it was: a fairy.

A sudden surge of hope burst through his chest at the discovery but was just as quickly quashed, even from the distance he could tell that it wasn't Navi; his former partner didn't glow pink. Despite the pain brought on by the sudden dash of hope, Link wasted no time as he hurriedly made his way over to the distressed forest sprite. It didn't take him long to ascertain the reason for her frenzied state.

The poor fairy was trapped; wrapped tightly and bound by the sticky threads of a spider's web. Link watched her frantic struggles as he approached, her exertions only making her situation worse as she tangled herself further with each frantic pull. Her arms, legs, and gossamer wings were bound completely making escape impossible. Nevertheless she fought and Link couldn't help but admire her tenacity.

As he drew closer he spotted a small Skulltula, the reason for the fairies dilemma, crawling its way toward its helpless victim and clacking its mandibles loudly. Link clicked his tongue in disgust. Skulltulas were one of the few forest creatures that would actively feed on fairies. As creatures deeply connected to the forest, fairies were well respected by its other inhabitants and only the darker monsters dared to attack them. Skulltulas were among them. The helpless fairy soon became aware of the approaching monster and with another terrified scream she redoubled her efforts to break free.

With a scowl Link immediately drew his bow and killed the creature with a shot straight between the eyes of its patterned abdomen. The fairy let out a startled gasp in surprise at the sudden turn of events. One minute she had been staring fearfully into the jaws of death and suddenly those same clacking jaws had disappeared from her sight as Link's arrow knocked the monster from its web.

She turned her head in confusion and her eyes widened at the sight of her saviour approaching on a horse. She was too surprised to think clearly although she idly recognized the figure's garb as that of a Kokiri, though the presence of weapons on him indicated otherwise. She continued to stare speechless as the boy dismounted and walked up to her, his height making him perfectly eye level with her.

"Are you alright?" He asked kindly, his piercing blue eyes full of concern.

"I…uh…umm…y-yes…I-I think so," the young fairy stammered in reply.

"Good, I'm glad," Link smiled warmly in relief causing the fairy to blush at the tenderness in his voice and expression. "Here, let me help you."

He reached forward with one hand to cradle her body while using the other to carefully snap the threads around her with deft fingers. It didn't take him more than a few seconds to remove her from the entanglement. Luckily the Skulltula that spun this web had been small, otherwise the silk would have been much thicker and stronger. He then held the fairy at chest height to examine her and frowned.

Despite being free from the web itself she was still covered in its threads. One of her arms was pinned to her side and her left leg was bent at the knee with her ankle bound to the calf of her other leg, not to mention the silk that tightly wound around the rest of her body and wings. Link doubted she would ever be able free herself from such a state and he couldn't just start pulling the stuff off or he might hurt her. With a heavy sigh he reached into his item pouch and withdrew his waterskin.

"Sorry about this," he said as he removed the cap with his teeth.

The fairy blinked at him. "Wait…what are you do-AARGH!"

Her shrill cry was slightly muffled by the sudden gush of water he dowsed her with. It may only have been a drizzle by normal standards but for someone of her stature it was a torrential flood and it was bloody COLD! Unfortunately bound as she was she could do nothing but take it.

As soon as he was finished she shook herself off as best she could before glaring daggers at Link who grinned sheepishly. He replaced the cap on his waterskin before reaching forward to pinch some of the silk around her legs and began to pull. While the water couldn't dissolve the spider's threads it did help to loosen their hold on the poor fairy. He worked slowly and carefully, mindful not to injure the sprite, and soon had her free of most of the offending stuff. As soon as she was able, the fairy rose to her feet and began trying to wring the water out of her dress.

"Was that really necessary?!" she whined.

"Would you rather I tried ripping that stuff off without it?" Link chuckled lightly and watched as she tried pulling on some web that was still stuck to her elbow.

"I suppose not," She sighed in response when she finally managed to remove the sticky gunk. The fairy then proceeded to try getting the last of the stuff out of her hair and it was then that Link took the opportunity to get a good look at her.

Despite her size she had a willowy figure with long slender legs. She wore a form fitting thigh high magenta dress with straps that fell around her shoulders leaving the tops and her arms bare. Like all fairies she was barefoot. Her auburn hair was short, only reaching to her neck, but suited her very well. Like him she had long pointed ears but unlike him her eyes were bright green. Topping off her appearance was a coiled armlet on right bicep, a beaded bracelet on her right wrist, a similarly beaded necklace, and a pair of earrings in her right ear, all of which matched her eyes perfectly. The fairy would have been considered absolutely beautiful by anyone's standards.

He watched as she finally managed to rid her hair of the sticky thread and then began flapping her wings rapidly in an effort to dry them, wet as they were now she wouldn't be going anywhere for a few minutes.

"Here," Link offered. "Maybe this will help." He raised a finger and with a touch of magic produced a small flame at its tip which he lowered towards her. While he had never been nearly as gifted in the magical arts as Zelda he could easily manage something like this.

"Oh, thank you!" She smiled happily and put her hands towards the flame to warm herself.

"No problem," Link chuckled. "Least I could do after soaking you like that."

"Mmmm…" the fairy hummed but didn't reply. After a moment she stood back and let Link dissipate the fire before turning fully to him. She clasped her hands in front and bowed low to him.

"Thank you very much for saving me!"

"My pleasure," Link smiled at her. "What's your name?"

"Spryte," the fairy replied standing up straight and moving her hands behind her back.

"Nice to meet you, Spryte. I'm Link."

"Link? That sounds kinda familiar. Are you a Kokiri?" Spryte asked curiously, rocking back and forth on her heels. "You look like one but no Kokiri I've heard of carries weapons like you do."

At her words Link's smile turned sad yet still maintained a soft warmth.

"No," he replied. "I'm not, but I was raised as one."

Spryte blinked at his response. "You were…raised as a Kokiri?" She tilted her head to the side in thought. "But the only one like that I know of was…" She trailed off and her eyes widened as realization dawned on her. "Are you the Hero the Great Deku Tree Sprout spoke of?!"

Link laughed sheepishly at her reaction and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah…that's me."

Spryte immediately gasped, snapping her hands to her mouth in shock. Her wings beat furiously, lifting her off his hand and she began flitting about his face excitedly.

"Oh I can't believe it! All the fairies in the forest know about you! And you show up just in time to save me? Wow!"

Link couldn't help but laugh at her antics. He liked her; she was energetic, playful, and spunky.

"I'm just glad I was passing through, you're pretty lucky you know," the young hero replied.

"Don't I know it," Spryte sighed heavily. "What are you doing this deep in the Lost Woods? No Kokiri ever comes this far."

"I…" Link hesitated. "I was looking for my friend, a fairy like you actually. Her name's Navi, perhaps you know her?"

"Oh," Spryte's face suddenly fell. "I suppose you wouldn't know…"

"Wouldn't know what?" Link asked in alarm. "Have you met her? Do you know where she is?"

The young fairy winced at his sudden change in tone but she answered uneasily.

"I...I have never met her personally, but…like you… all fairies know of her."

"Can you tell me what happened to her?" Link asked, desperate hope in his eyes.

Spryte hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to proceed. "Do you…do you know why fairies do what we do?"

"Huh?" Link tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"When fairies are born, we are born with a purpose. This purpose drives us and we exist to fulfill it. That being said we have a lot of leeway within our calling and we can do whatever we want as long as we tend to the duties given to us. If we ever complete the specific task given to us then, depending on the nature of our previous task, we are either given new purposes or sent out to find our own. Most of us are called to tend to the forest and provide healing to creatures in need which is a life-long task. Other fairies are called to be guardian partners of a Kokiri, a task which lasts as long as the Kokiri lives. There are others of course but those are the main ones you probably know about."

She paused for a breath and to make sure Link was following before continuing.

"Navi…Navi was a special case. Her task wasn't to be your guardian fairy, since you're not actually a Kokiri, but to help you on your quest."

Again she paused and watched the slow realization dawn in the young Hylian's eyes.

"When your journey was complete, her task was fulfilled and she was called back to the forest. She couldn't have stayed with you even if she wanted to."

Link swallowed hard at the news and fought to keep his shaky breaths even. He wasn't succeeding.

"Then…do you know where she is now?

Spryte shook her head sadly in reply. "No, and I doubt you will ever find her either…"

"What?! Why not?!" Link demanded angrily.

"Navi was lauded as a hero upon her return and she was given a reward for her accomplishments."

"A reward?"

Spryte nodded. "Fairies who manage to accomplish particularly great deeds are considered the best of us and ready to take on the greatest of purposes. They are given the blessing to grow and become Great Fairies. When this happens they must leave in order to create a personal Fairy Fountain to house them while they grow into their new bodies and powers. For some this can happen very quickly…but for most the transformation takes years, sometimes as long as a lifetime. Navi was the last fairy to receive this blessing."

Link was stunned. He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. He just couldn't believe that all his searching had been for naught. Navi was beyond his reach. Great Fairy Fountains were well hidden and could be located anywhere in the land. Some were known to the Royal Family and the other races of Hyule, but Link didn't doubt there were many no one knew existed. Not only that but it was very likely that her transformation wasn't even complete yet. Even if by some miracle he did somehow manage to find her, he knew that she could never be with him again. Her duties as a Great Fairy would prevent that.

With this new revelation the Hero of Time lowered his head dejectedly, tears welling up in his eyes.

Spryte flew down and rested a hand comfortingly on his head. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"It's…it's alright…" He choked out before falling silent again. Spryte let him have his moment to gather his thoughts and grieve. After a few minutes he slowly lifted his head back to her and smiled. "Thank you for telling me this. It hurts that I'll probably never see her again but…at least I know she's well. Thank you."

Once again Spryte flushed at his warm smile and watched him turn back to his horse and mount her. She casually fluttered over to him and hovered in front of his face.

"If it helps, I know that she truly cared for you and wouldn't have left if she had any other choice."

"How do you know that?"

"Like I said, Navi was a special case. When a fairy is able to truly fulfill their purpose it is meant to be a joyous moment because it is so rarely done. Most of them are either lifelong commitments or incredibly difficult and as such many fairies grow comfortable in their current position, making progress slow. Completing a task deemed worthy of becoming a Great Fairy is something we all dream about but realistically never expect to happen. So when it does, they mark the times of our greatest and most joyous celebrations and all fairies know of it."

Spryte paused to give Link a comforting smile.

"When she completed her purpose and was named the newest Great Fairy, Navi was the first fairy to ever shed tears because of it."

Link blinked at the news, mouth agape. He stared at Spryte for a long, silent moment, before slight smile grew on his face just in time to divert the drop of water the fell from his eye. With a sniff and a shallow exhalation he quickly wiped his eyes dry before turning away to compose himself.

"Thanks, Spryte…" He said shakily, though his voice grew stronger with each word that followed. "That does help…a lot."

"You're very welcome," the little fairy smiled at him.

"I guess that means my search is over…"

"What are you going to do now?" She asked curiously.

He didn't respond right away but after a moment he sighed. "I don't know...my life up until this point has been one big journey after another. Now that this one is over…I'm at a loss."

"Well," Spryte giggled mischievously. She crossed her arms behind her back and bent towards him. "If you're unsure do you think I could-?"

Whatever she was about to say was interrupted by a sudden crack of thunder overhead. Startled, the pair looked to the sky through the clearing, shock appearing on their faces from what they saw. Dark clouds had suddenly begun swirling above, conjoining into a black hole directly overhead. Heavy winds began rocking the canopy of the trees and could be felt even down to the ground. As the clouds thickened flashes of lightning emanated from the swirling hole, growing larger and more intense with each passing moment.

"Wh-What's happening?!" Spryte shouted in alarm and darted closer to Link to avoid the wind. The young Hero raised an arm overhead to stare at the anomaly as the wind picked up even more. The lightning increased in frequency and intensity until suddenly a wide column of light burst from the hole and fell upon the area around them. The wind instantly grew to a hurricane force gale that swirled within the column of light.

"KYAA!" Spryte screamed holding on to Link's shirt tunic for dear life as the wind threated to blow her away.

"Spryte!" Link shouted in fear when he saw her losing her grip. Try as she might she was not strong enough to hold on and the fabric of his tunic slowly began slipping from her fingers. A sudden violent shake wrenched one of her hands free and left her dangling by what little strength she had in her other. Just as she was about to be blown away, Link acted. With the lightning fast speed and reflexes of a warrior built in battle Link whipped his arm out and caught the hapless fairy in one of his empty bottles. He quickly capped it off before clutching it tightly to his chest.

The wind continued to pick up and he squeezed his eyes shut from the intensity. Beneath him Epona snorted and whinnied fearfully but remained in place like the steadfast steed that she was. Rocks, dirt, and twigs started lifting from the ground, carried up into the dark void in the sky. The malevolent vortex soon gained enough power to lift both Link and Epona from the ground. The panicked cries of the young hero and his horse were muffled by the howling storm as the wind carried them around and up towards its foreboding epicenter.

Just as they were about to be pulled into the black void, a golden glow emanating from his left hand wrapped around Link. The young Hylian gazed in shock as the symbol of the Triforce burned brightly on the back of his hand. The frantic cry of his beloved horse caused his attention to snap towards the poor creature as she flew passed him. With a desperate cry he reached out and managed to snag her mane. As he did so the golden light enveloped her as well, slowing their pace but not halting it. Just as they were pulled into the dark void a brilliant flash of golden light dispersed the storm almost as quickly as it came. The light shone in the air like a brilliant star even brighter than the sun before suddenly receding into itself and winking out of existence leaving nothing in its trace.

With that light, Link, the Hero of Time and bearer of the Triforce of Courage, vanished from Hyrule.

xxx

 _Magnolia, Earthland X778_

"I'll kill you, you tin can wearing floozy!"

"I'll make you beg for mercy, you bare-stomached bimbo!"

The mages of Fairy Tail watched with trepidation as the two strongest female members of the guild butted heads. It was a fairly regular occurrence for the guild known for its rambunctious and over-the –top members. The two girls fought just as much if not more than Natsu and Grey and THAT was saying something. The only difference was that while Erza always broke up the fights between the boys, no one dared do the same for her and Mirajane. There was some unwritten law of the universe that prevented men from breaking up a catfight and there weren't any female members strong enough to try. The few times that Natsu had tried to intervene had ended with him being knocked through the wall or roof. As such the two were usually left alone until something happened to interrupt their fight or the Master himself intervened.

"Red-haired idiot!"

"Old hag!"

"Tramp!"

"Wench!"

The two young women traded blows endlessly, pulling hair, and throwing insults with abandon. Though there was very little actual skill involved, a sharp contrast to a legitimate wizards duel, it was nonetheless a vicious and brutal brawl with no rules whatsoever. They fought for several minutes before they suddenly broke apart; Erza summoned a sword with her Requip magic while a dark magic circle appeared over Mira's head. Panic spread throughout the guild as the two powerful girls prepared to clash when suddenly something crashed through the roof and cratered the floor between them.

All movement in the guild ceased as people coughed and tried waving away the dust that was kicked up by the impact.

"What was that?!" Someone yelled through the haze.

Confusion was etched on the faces of everyone as they waited for the dust to settle. Erza and Mira were the most surprised of all since the sudden interruption had quite literally broken up the fight between them. As the air cleared they approached the crash cautiously and gasped in surprise at what they saw. A young boy clad in a green with a long floppy hat and a sword and shield strapped to his back lay unconscious in the middle of the small hole. His long pointed ears were easily visible through his golden blonde hair.

"It's a boy!" Mira exclaimed loudly shocking the other members of the guild.

"A boy?"

"Where did he come from?"

"What's going on?"

These and many other questions echoed around the hall until a low groan pierced through the noise and silenced everyone. All eyes immediately turned to the mysterious boy who struggled to sit up. Erza immediately raised her sword, ready in case the intruder was hostile. She watched carefully as the boy sat up and rubbed his head before slowly opening his eyes.

She was the first thing that he saw and she blinked in surprise as their eyes met. His were a deep and piercing blue, sharper than any eyes she had seen before. Though there was confusion in them she also saw something else; something familiar…a hardness that indicated strength, experience, and danger. The sight made her unconsciously tighten her grip on her sword, an action which did not go unnoticed by the boy who narrowed his eyes in response before suddenly lunging forward with a loud cry.

In one swift leap he had closed the distance between them while smoothly drawing both sword and shield. Erza barely had time to respond before she was forced to raise her blade to block the lightning fast strike of the strange boy's weapon. The power behind the blow surprised her but she wasn't one of the strongest female mages in Fairy Tail for nothing and she easily held her ground, their blades locked.

The boy pushed hard against her, trying to break through her guard for an advantage, but Erza was strong and held firm. The stalemate lasted for a second before Erza pushed his blade aside and tried to counter. The green clad boy swiftly dodged the blow and struck again. A furious exchange of blows followed with neither the boy nor Erza gaining the advantage. They struck, dodged, blocked, countered and parried one another in a wild dance of blades.

Erza blocked another attack then swung her sword in a wide horizontal slash which the boy rolled away from and around to her back. She gasped in surprise and quickly Requipped another blade which she swung over her shoulder behind her back just in time to stop the boys counter. The boy looked surprised at the sudden display of magic and Erza took full advantage of the momentary pause to attack again with both weapons in hand.

A cry of dismay left the boy as he struggled to stave off the redhead's furious assault. He managed to block all of her strikes but her powerful blows numbed his arms and he was slowly being pushed back. Erza smirked as she realized her advantage and pressed on, striking with increasing ferocity. Finally she swung both swords up with enough power to break through his guard and cause him to stumble. In a single fluid motion she continued her movement into a tight spin, Requipping out both swords for a polearm which she swung to strike the boy. She hit him in the stomach with the shaft of her weapon and sent him crashing into the far wall.

For a moment all movement stopped as everyone watched the boy drop to the ground with a groan. Erza relaxed her stance, placing one hand on her hip with a smirk of triumph. That smirk however turned into a frown when she saw the boy rise to his feet again and glare at her with determined eyes. She readied herself once more as the boy lunged forward again.

" **ENOUGH!"**

A commanding voice bellowed as a gigantic fist smashed between them. All eyes turned to see the angry face of the Guild Master Makarov glaring at them all, his magically enlarged arm separating the strange boy from Erza. He locked eyes with the young boy who returned his gaze with an unwavering determination that mildly impressed the Guild Master. The stare down continued for several tense seconds before, to everyone's surprise, the boys sword suddenly dropped from his hands with a loud clang and he fell to the floor unconscious; a pool a blood slowly spreading from his body.

"He's hurt!" the gentle voice of Lisanna, Mirajane's younger sister, exclaimed.

Everyone gasped and crowded around the boy while Erza blinked in surprise.

" _He was hurt?"_ She thought to herself. " _How did I not notice?"_

"LINK!"

A new voice cried out and everyone looked up to see a glowing ball of light zip through the hole in the roof towards the boy.

"OH NO!" She screamed when she saw the blood. "Hold on, Link! You'll be ok!"

She then turned to face the people around them and frantically pleaded. "Please! You have to help him!"

For a second no one moved, too surprised by the sudden presence of the tiny flying women.

"Hey, you're kinda pretty!" Natsu, the bluntest person present, broke the silence. "Are you some kind of firefly?"

"What?!" the little women suddenly glowed red with rage. "I'm not a bug! I'm a fairy!"

Dead silence fell around the guild.

.

.

.

.

.

" **WHAAAAAT?!"**

xxx


	2. Recovery

The Legend of Fairy Tail

Chapter 2:

Recovery

xxx

 _Moments earlier…_

He was floating. Drifting along slowly through an endless white void. Had he been conscious Link might have been stunned by the environment, or lack thereof, that he currently occupied. He was no stranger to situations and places of incredible wonder. He had, after all, wandered across the entire kingdom of Hyrule and beyond, fell between dimensions, and even passed through Time itself. He was definitely not unfamiliar with situations like this. But even so, nothing would have prepared him for the shear emptiness of the space around him.

Therefore it was a perhaps a good thing that he wasn't conscious.

Though if anyone else were to witness what happened next they would argue against that.

 _Link…_

A strange, echoing, melodious voice drifted towards him. It touched his ears like a lover's caress, causing them to twitch despite his current lack of awareness.

 _Link…_

The voice called his name again. He could not hear it as one normally would, sound did not exist in the void between dimensions, but the gentle voice held power beyond that of mere sound. It seemed to enter his very being, touching upon his subconscious mind. It failed to rouse him from his unconscious state, but that wasn't the purpose of the voice. At least it wasn't meant to rouse _him_ , but at its call the mark of the Triforce on his hand began to glow.

 _Link…_

Again the voice echoed around him, causing the mark to glow with increasing brightness until it was suddenly overshadowed. Three golden figures descended towards Link in a slow spiralling circle perfectly spaced apart. Their radiant glow far outstripped the brightness of the Triforce on his hand. The glowing outline of their bodies suggested they were female, a fact reinforced by their long wavy hair which was the only visible difference between them. One of them had hair that burned a glorious ruby red, another's a sparkling sapphire blue, and the last a rich emerald green. The golden light blazing from their bodies had a soft aura around each of them that matched the color of their hair.

The three divines, for they could be nothing else, glided towards him with otherworldly grace until they formed a small triangle around him. They wore no visible clothing, having no need since their radiant light obscured their features. Gradually, their celestial glow slowly diminished until the details of their faces could be seen.

They were impossibly beautiful. Their eyes that matched the color of their hair and their faces were so perfect that no mortal artisan of any craft could ever hope to recreate them. Such was their beauty and glory that anyone who beheld them with full possession of their faculties would be lost forever.

Again it was a good thing Link was unconscious.

The one with green hair gently drifted over, a smile full of tender love directed to him.

 _Ah dear Hero…_

Her voice was breathtaking, easily matching her divine beauty, and full of power, authority, compassion, and love all at once. One could listen to her voice till their bodies turned to dust and never notice the passing of time.

 _You've sacrificed so much and given to so many with no thought to reward, even to a land not your own. You are indeed worthy to be called my champion…_

The goddess with the blue hair spoke next.

 _If any in this world was worthy of our power it would have been you…but alas that can no longer be…events outside of our realm of control have taken you from our domain…_

The red haired goddess then continued.

 _Even so, your journey is not over young warrior, but you shall not return. Your struggles in this world are complete. A new world has need of you now…_

As they spoke, the glowing Triforce on his hand began lifting away from him. It slowly floated towards the green haired goddess before suddenly vanishing in flash of light. The goddess gave the unconscious Link a heartbroken look that would have torn the heart of any mortal to behold. Such a look should never be worn by one such as her.

 _The piece you bear cannot go with you, my child, it belongs in this realm…and we have little influence where you are going…_

Then her sad look changed back to that tender smile.

 _But fear not…for you go with our blessing…_

The red haired goddess spoke next.

 _We will give you strength…_

The blue haired one.

 _We will be your guides…_

Returning once more to the green goddess.

 _We will be with you always…_

As one they each extended a hand and placed it over his left. A rush of divine power flooded his body causing him to twitch and gasp despite his comatose state. It wasn't pain that his body and subconscious mind was reacting too for there was none. It wasn't pain that coursed through him but feelings of their power, love, tender compassion, joy, sadness, serenity, and a myriad of other emotions that only a divine being could feel. When they removed their hands they revealed the mark of the Triforce once again burned onto his skin.

 _Our gifts to you, dear Hero…We cannot give you the fullness of our essence for that was to be done only once, but we give you what we can and we know you will use it well…You will adapt to this new world and become all the stronger for it…_

 _They then glanced to the two other unconscious figures that accompanied the young Hylian, the little fairy in the bottle and his equally young steed._

 _And you won't be alone, your companions will help you as well…we will impart a measure of power to them also…_

The green haired goddess then drifted closer, reaching down to cup his face with her gentle hands. With all the loving tenderness of a celestial mother she placed her lips upon his, filling him once more with her glorious presence.

 _May you find happiness…my beloved champion…_

xxx

A bright flash of golden light burst into existence over the city of Magnolia, disappearing almost as quickly as it had come. From the center of the light a figure clad in green appeared and plummeted towards the ground below.

Link felt the wind rush by him and knew that he was falling but he was barely conscious enough to recognize his plight let alone do anything about it. Even so he maintained his death hold on the bottle clutched tightly to his chest refusing even subconsciously to let it go. The small fairy sheltered within could only watch helplessly as they fell through the sky.

As the young Hero's consciousness faded further his grip on the bottle slowly relaxed until both arms were extended outwards and only one hand was maintaining its hold on the item. Spryte could see his face now and panicked fear gripped her heart when she recognized his lack of awareness. No! He was going to die!

Tiny fists pounded on the glass with all their might and she screamed his name repeatedly but to no avail. She was powerless to do anything. Tears poured from her eyes as she gazed at the rapidly approaching land below. Somehow that black void had taken them somewhere but to where exactly she did not know. All she knew was that they were no longer within the borders of the forest. In fact they were falling towards a city of some sort. Though there were forested mountains around the city as well as many trees within, it was clearly not the same place they had been. She could also see that the city was built around a river that flowed out into the ocean. She didn't know much more than that since she had never been outside the Lost Woods before and had never even seen a human town let alone a city.

Her breath hitched in her throat as the ground grew closer and closer with each passing second. She noted that they were headed towards the roof of a very large building at the far end of the city. She cursed their luck. A few degrees over and they would have crashed into the ocean bay. There would have been a chance of survival then. Alas fate was truly working against them this day…

The ground drew closer and terror welled up inside the poor fairy causing her to completely stop breathing. A final scream left her lips as Link crashed into and through the roof of the building. Upon impact the bottle flew from his grip to land on the ground outside the building and bounce along the cobblestone road. Surprisingly the bottle didn't shatter on impact and the fairy inside felt very little force from the hard bouncing. It must have had some magic properties to protect it and whatever it contained. However, even with this protection it didn't save her from getting ridiculously dizzy.

When the bottle finally rolled to a halt Spryte lay in a dishevelled mess, her eyes swirling as the world around her continued spinning. It took several moments before she could sit up and several more before she was able to stand. When she finally managed to shake her senses back together her thoughts immediately turned to Link. Was he alive? Did he survive the fall?

She could see the building and the hole he had fallen through but nothing else to indicate anything otherwise. She had to get out and find him! She turned her attention to the cork that plugged the bottle and immediately rushed over and tried to push it out. She could tell that Link hadn't been able to push the wooden plug fully into the bottle but even so it refused to budge. She grunted and strained against the wooden barrier, shoving with all her might, flapping her wings and even body checking it, but it held fast. She felt panic well up in her chest again and more tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

She HAD to get out! Link had saved her not once now, but TWICE! She needed to get to him, NOW! She heaved again, slamming her back into the cork and pushing with everything she had.

 _*POP*_

The cork suddenly gave way and launched out of the bottle. Spryte cried out in surprise as the sudden lack of resistance shot her out of the container with it. She tumbled through air a few times before managing to right herself. Finally free from the crystalline prison she took a few quick seconds to catch her breath before zooming towards the hole in the roof.

She could hear some sort of commotion from the within and arrived at the hole just in time to see Link collapse.

"LINK!" she screamed and darted through the hole.

She ignored the people around her and hovered over the prone form of the Hero of Time. She gasped as she saw the blood leaking from his injured body.

"OH NO!" She darted down to his face and flitted about frantically. "Hold on, Link! You'll be ok!"

She didn't know what to do. There was no way she could carry him and she needed help in order to treat his injuries. She then turned to face the people around them. Surely these people would help!

"Please! You have to help him!" She begged.

They didn't respond to her right away and for a moment she was afraid that they didn't understand her.

Finally a young boy with pink hair and a white, scaly scarf spoke up.

""Hey, you're kinda pretty!" The boy said with a cheery smile. "Are you some kind of firefly?"

"What!" Spryte immediately roared, temporarily forgetting her dilemma. A firefly?! Really?! Had these people never heard of a fairy before? Why she had never been so insulted in all her life!

"I'm not a bug!" She yelled, glowing red with anger. "I'm a fairy!"

A look of dead shock fell on the faces of everyone around her. Some people let their jaws drop to gape at her like fish.

" **WHAAAAAT?!"**

The people suddenly cried out, startling the fairy, and actually knocking her back a bit by the force of the exclamation.

"You're a fairy?!" Someone shouted though she didn't notice exactly who through the commotion.

"Do you have a tail?!"

"Where did you come from?!"

"What's your name?"

"What kind of magic do you use?"

Spryte faltered. The intensity of their stares and the scrutiny of their questions alarmed her. Panic erupted through her body and her instincts screamed at her to fly away, but before she could escape a sudden pulse of magic silenced everyone and Spryte turned to see a VERY large and frightening man raise himself over the crowd.

" **WOULD YOU FOOLS QUIET DOWN!"** the giant roared. " **Can't you see this boy needs help? This is no time for your nonsense!"**

Spryte gasped, having momentarily forgotten about Link, and turned back to the still bleeding boy. "Someone please lift him up for me! I need to know where his injuries are!"

The pink haired boy that had spoken to her earlier and a blue haired boy beside him, whom for whatever reason was only wearing his boxers, stepped forward and quickly draped each of Link's arms over one of their shoulders and lifted him up. As soon as they did this Spryte darted back and forth frantically inspecting his body to try and find all his injuries. Her discoveries made her take a sharp intake of breath. His injuries were terrible! He had several gashes and cuts hidden beneath his tunic that oozed blood freely and bruises had started to form on his arms and legs. Blood flowed from somewhere on his head and she could sense several broken ribs as well as a few fractures in various places. She was amazed he had even been able to regain consciousness let alone stand long enough to collapse again. By all rights he should be dead!

"Oh no…" Spryte whispered sombrely. "This is bad…I can't heal all of this…"

Perhaps if she had the power of a Great Fairy she could do more but as she was now the young fairy wasn't nearly strong enough to fix everything. But that wasn't going to stop her from trying! With a deep breath she flew back a bit and began to focus her power. Her wings began to glow with a faint pink light and drop specks of glittering pink dusts as they flapped. She then darted forward and flew in a fast spiral around Link. Her glittering wings created a gentle breeze around him and left a trail of pink fairy dust in their wake.

The mages of Fairy Tail watched in amazement as the wounds on the boy began to heal right before their eyes. They continued to stare while the fairy flew faster and faster, generating more light with each pass.

"It's…warm…" Gray blinked in surprise, being close enough to feel the fairy's wind.

"It feels…nice," Natsu grinned widely despite the situation.

Spryte eventually pulled away from her task and hovered, exhausted, before them. She had tried her best but she had only been able to deal with the immediately life threatening injuries before she had run out of power.

"That's all I can do for him…" She panted sadly.

"A curious ability, my dear," the giant that had quelled the noise before had now turned into a tiny man who walked forward with an air of authority. "Might I ask who you are?"

"My name is Spryte and the boy there is Link," the fae replied tiredly.

"It's nice to meet you, Spryte. I am Makarov, the Guild Master to this bunch of hooligans," he bowed his head to her. "Now then, while I have many questions for you and I'm sure you do for us as well, now is not the time to be asking them. This boy needs medical attention, yes?"

"Yes he does," Spryte smiled weakly at him. "Thank you, Mr. Makarov."

"Think nothing of it little one," Makarov smiled before turning to the others around them. "Let's take him to Porlyusica."

xxx

Link gasped and bolted upright, snapping his eyes open. His vision was blurred and he had to blink a few times to focus and raise his hand to ward against the offending sunlight that filtered through a window. As he did, Link felt the memories of a dream begin to fade from his mind.

He tried to remember the details of his dream, a dream so real that he unsure if it was one. He heard voices, heavenly voices that spoke to him offering words of sorrow and comfort. He desperately grasped at the images in his mind and tried to recall what they had said but he failed to hold them as they slowly faded into oblivion. Try as he might he could recall nothing save for a strange feeling of loss mixed with a contradiction feeling of completion.

He glanced down at his left hand, the mark of the Triforce the only evidence of his dream and he blinked in confusion at it as if unsure where it had come from, which was true now that his memory had faded away. The mark was different than what he had remembered it being. Before the piece that represented the Triforce of Courage was a lighter color than the other two, which looked like very dark tan marks. Now though, the other two had lightened considerably while the Triforce of Courage mark had darkened to match them. He frowned at the change but before he could ponder on it further a sudden wave of pain jolted him from his thoughts. He gasped and pitched forward while his eyes began to water.

He clenched his teeth and waited for the pain to subside before wiping away the water in his eyes once it had. As his vision cleared his nose inhaled the sweet and familiar scent of the forest. This helped put his confused mind at ease though he noticed something…different…about the smell than he was used to. He couldn't quite put his finger on what but he knew that something was not right. Nevertheless, he was still in a forest so that was a good sign.

He looked around and discovered he was lying in a bed next to a window. The room he was in was furnished with several wooden crates in the corners, a large bookshelf to the right and a smaller one on the opposite left. There was a table covered in various herbs, beakers, and other alchemic type objects directly across from him and there were various flowers, plants, and herbs littered throughout the room. Although some of the items were strange he instantly recognized that the room he was in was inside a tree. Just like what the Kokiri lived in. Was he perhaps in a Kokiri home?

He tried to move but a jolt of pain throughout his body stopped him and caused him to wince.

" _Ugh…what happened?"_ He thought to himself. _"Last thing I remember was…"_

He tried to recall his last memories before he blacked out. He immediately remembered the storm, being sucked into the air, then a vague feeling of falling before crashing into something. Then he remembered pain. A LOT of pain. It was so great that it took everything he had just to sit up. He then remembered seeing someone.

A red head. A girl, he recalled, wearing armour and holding a sword.

She had glared at him and taken an offensive posture, something even his pain filled mind registered. Had he been more clear-headed perhaps a different course of action would have happened but as it was he had been confused and in a great deal of hurt; therefore, seeing a potential threat before him had made his battle honed instincts for survival take hold. He had attacked.

He only vaguely remembered the details of the fight but one thing stood clear in his mind: the girl was strong. They had been even for a while but then she had done something…summoned a sword from the air…and caught him completely off guard. He remembered her powerful blows and furious assault and then…nothing. That was all he could recall and it didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened. He had lost, although given the circumstances and his injuries that was hardly surprising.

He suddenly became aware of a soft sound beside him and he turned his gaze to see Spryte, his new fairy friend, curled up on the pillow where his head had been, sound asleep. He smiled at the cute noises she made while sleeping and suppressed the chuckle that threatened to escape his lips; he didn't want to wake her after all.

"I see you're awake," A voice to his side broke the silence. Link snapped his head to the sound to see an elderly woman with pink hair held up by a strange gold hairpiece and wearing an even stranger red cloak coming towards him.

"How do you feel?"

"My whole body hurts," Link replied truthfully. "But I'll live."

"Hmm," the woman nodded and strode towards him, a vial of some strange concoction in her hand. "That's good. In all honesty I'm surprised you're awake. Your injuries were severe and it's only been a few days." She held out the vial to him. "Drink this." It wasn't a suggestion and for some reason Link didn't dare question her. He took the vial and shucked it back, immediately gagging on the taste.

"Ack!" He coughed in disgust. "That's nasty! Even worse than Chu Jelly!" And THAT was saying something.

"You'll live," the women stated bluntly echoing his own words.

"I suppose I have you to thank for that, don't I?" Link responded after he finished his coughing fit.

"Actually no," She replied and nodded her head towards the sleeping fairy. "She's the one you have to thank. She spent every waking moment hovering over you and trying to heal you with her magic. That's why she is sleeping so soundly."

Link blinked in surprise at the revelation and turned back to the fairy. His smile deepened and he tenderly reached out to stroke her hair with a finger. She stirred at his touch but didn't wake, only snuggling deeper into the warm pillow.

"You should go back to sleep," the woman said after a moment. "You still have a long recovery ahead of you."

Link nodded and suppressed a wince as he settled back down. The potion she had given must have been meant to induce sleep because his eyes started to feel heavy despite how long he had been out before. It wasn't long before his thoughts became muddled and darkness overcame him.

xxx

"How is he?" Makarov asked when Porlyusica stepped outside. He sat with his limbs crossed on her porch, staring out into the trees. He tilted his head just enough to see her with the corner of his eye but no more. The old healer didn't turn to him but kept her gaze straight as she replied.

"He's recovering quicker than I ever expected. That little fairy's magic is rather impressive."

"I see," Makarov nodded. "So she is indeed a fairy then?"

"It would seem so," Porlyusica admitted. "But then again perhaps not. There's something troubling me about both of them."

"Oh? What would that be?"

"For one thing that little girl claims the two of them were sucked into the sky by a dark vortex that suddenly appeared overhead."

Makarov blinked. "That sounds like…"

Porlyusica nodded. "Yes, but they are not from Edolas."

"How can you be sure?"

"The land Spryte described sounds nothing like it for one and for another the boy's physiology is different."

"Do you mean his ears?" Makarov asked curiously.

"No," She replied but then corrected herself. "Well yes, in a way, but that wasn't the first thing I noticed. While certainly unusual it's common to see people with strange features where magic is concerned."

"Hmmm, true enough."

"That's what I believed at first and discounted his ears until I realized that he doesn't have a magic container."

At this Makarov turned his head to stare at her fully. "Are you sure?"

Porylusica met his gaze and nodded. A moment of tense silence fell between them before Makarov turned away with an expression of deep thought.

"So…" he spoke slowly in a contemplative tone. He had already been made aware of the extent of the young lad's injuries and this new piece of information was very startling. "That means…while heavily injured that boy matched Erza blow for blow without the use of magic."

"He did what?" Porlyusica demanded unaware of this fact.

"When he first crashed through the roof of the guild there was a bit of confusion that somehow resulted in the two of them fighting. They were evenly matched for a while until Erza started using her magic actively. She gained the advantage afterwards and that's when I interrupted their fight and the boy collapsed. Nobody realized how hurt he was at the time. If what you say is true then what he accomplished was no small feat."

Another silence fell between them. While she tried to avoid human contact as much as possible, Porlyusica was not ignorant to the happenings of the guild. She knew that Erza was a strong mage, one Makarov was even considering for the S-class exams in a year or two, who excelled in physical combat. Magic naturally made the people with it stronger, faster, and tougher than those without and allowed them to perform great physical feats otherwise impossible.

While it was true that people without magic could train their bodies to a high level capable of matching average level mages they could never reach the full potential of someone that did. Even mages that shied away from direct physical combat could take much more punishment than a normal person. The fact that this strange boy was able to match, albeit temporarily, a close combat specializing wizard as strong as Erza without the aid of magic at all spoke volumes of his capabilities. That he was so heavily injured made the accomplishment even more impressive.

It was Makarov that finally broke the silence. "So his abilities aside, and the land description given by the fairy, what makes you so certain he's not from Edolas? It wouldn't be his lack of a magic container, that's a common feature."

"You're right." Porlyusica admitted. "It's how his body is reacting to the magic here that is startling to me. He's absorbing Eternano at an alarming rate; it's flowing through him almost like water. I've never seen anything like it. I believe his body is adapting to the change in environment and I would be astonished if he didn't develop a magic container within a couple of weeks."

THAT got Makarov's attention. It was an established fact that only about ten percent of Earthland's population could use magic, but contrary to what one might think that wasn't due to lack of capability. Technically everybody in Earthland could learn to use magic, it just took a lot of mental focus and discipline to start. Unless you could afford to have a lacrima implanted in your body to serve as a magic container, it took a lot of effort to actively absorb enough Eternano from the air for your body to create its own natural container. Hearing that this new boy was doing it subconsciously at the rate the Porlyusica claimed was rather startling.

"So you think he'll develop magic capabilities on his own?"

"I'm certain of it."

"Hmmm…very interesting…" He rubbed his chin in thought. "If that's the case then I'm curious to see how strong he will become. That boy will be given a rather unique opportunity."

"What do you mean?"

"There's something about him…" Makarov replied. "His eyes… Before he collapsed I met his gaze and what I saw surprised me. They hold age, wisdom, experience…those eyes have seen hardships and trials far beyond his years and yet still carry an unwavering strength. They are not the eyes of a child. I've never seen any like his, not even in Erza." He paused for a moment before continuing. "That boy is a warrior and from what I've seen a pretty strong one to boot. Normally a mage obtains some measure of power and then they temper that power and grow through experience. But he already has experience. If he were to gain magic- I can't imagine how strong he will become."

Though her face remained stoic, Porlyusica's eyes widened slightly at the implication. If what Makarov said was true then…

"I'd like for him to stay here for a few days."

Makarov raised an eyebrow in surprise. "That's an unusual request for you. Are you finally getting sick of this lonely life?"

"Don't be a fool." She snorted. "I hate humans and nothing is going to change that; but this is something new to me and I want to see how it develops. Besides," she bent down and picked up her broom. "That fairy girl isn't human and I'd like to talk to her after she's done fussing over the boy."

Makarov laughed. Leave it to his old teammate to take advantage of such a unique opportunity. "So the mystery of Fairy Tail is still intact," he mused. "If she's from another world then she may not be representative of the fairies in ours."

After another short pause he finally stood up and made to leave the forest. He called over his shoulder as he walked. "When you're done with him, give him directions to the guild. I'd like to give him the opportunity to join and I'm sure those kids would like to talk to him."

Porlyusica watched him leave before beginning to sweep her porch. "Hmmph, idiot. At this rate he's never going to retire."

xxx

The next day Porlyusica was surprised to find Link's bed empty and neatly made. It didn't take long to determine that he wasn't anywhere in the house and just as she felt her irritation beginning to rise she became aware of a strange noise coming from outside. Curious, she opened the door to her porch and blinked when she saw the boy sitting a ways away on a large tree root and playing some kind of flute. He was surrounded by various woodland creatures that listened raptly to the music flowing from the instrument. The fairy, Spryte, was sitting on the brim of his floppy hat and swinging her legs happily to the tune.

She wasn't aware of exactly how long she stared because she was soon caught up in the melody herself. It was happy and cheerful yet calm and soothing at the same time. The song was beautiful and the boy played it masterfully. All too soon it ended and she saw the boy turn his head towards her with a smile. The animals around him dispersed when the music stopped but they did so at a calm and leisurely pace, not at all disturbed by his presence even when he stood. Some of the animals even lingered around him. It was like he was as native to the woods as the animals themselves.

"Good morning," He called.

Porlyusica didn't respond, simply keeping her hard gaze on him for a few moments before finally replying. "I see you're awake."

"Yeah," Link nodded and stretched out his arms. "I'm still sore but I feel a lot better than I did yesterday."

"An impressive recovery," She stated.

Link smiled. "It's thanks to Spryte here," he indicated the Fairy on his hat who smiled happily. "Fairies specialize in healing magic."

"So I noticed," Porlyusica nodded. "Anyway I suppose you probably have questions and you should know that I have some for you as well. Spryte has told me a few things but she was more concerned with your well being at the time. Now that you're awake we can discuss matters more deeply."

"Sounds fair," he nodded. "I suppose first off I should introduce myself. I'm Link and, as you're already aware, this is Spryte."

"Porlyusica." She replied stonily. "Well then, Link, perhaps you can start by telling me how you ended up here."

For the next few hours Link did his best to explain what had happened to him and Spryte with the fairy adding in her own comments where she felt so inclined. Porlyusica would occasionally interject with a question but mostly listened to him. In turn she explained to him where he was, what had happened after his loss of consciousness, and his current condition. What she told him surprised Link greatly and forced him to think for a few moments in silence.

"So…" he said slowly. "I'm absorbing this… Eternano…from the air and you think I'll soon develop my own magic container to store it?"

"I knew the air here felt different!" Spryte exclaimed. "That explains it!"

It wasn't surprising that Spryte noticed the change. As a fairy she was much more in tune with the environment than a normal person. Meanwhile, Link was intrigued by the idea of magic being used in the ways that Porlyusica had described. It sounded quite different compared to the magic used in Hyrule. Although he knew a few spells and was probably a lot stronger at using what he knew than the average spell caster, he had never considered himself much of one. But this world's magic sounded right up his alley.

"Yes," Porlyusica nodded. "About 90% of the people in Earthland are unable or unwilling to use magic even though it's a part of everyday life. This is mostly due to the lack of a magical container. If they were to put forth the effort it would be possible for them to develop one naturally but it is very difficult to start if you are not magically inclined. There are ways of artificially creating one but most of those are very difficult, painful, or expensive; usually a combination of all three. You, on the other hand, are somehow developing one naturally without being born with it."

"What type of magic do you think I'll be able to use?" Link asked curiously.

"That depends on you actually," She replied. "While mages are often naturally inclined to one type of magic or another, sometimes manifesting while they develop their containers, any type can be learned if you're willing to put forth the effort. Many mages actually know several types of magic."

"Hmmm…interesting…" Link crossed his arms and looked at the sky thoughtfully.

Porlyusica stared at him for a few moments as if weighing out some difficult decision before she finally spoke. "You will remain here for a few days so that I can monitor your recovery and the development of your magic container. After that I shall tell you how to reach the Guild Hall you crashed through." The way she said it was not a suggestion and brokered no room for argument from the young hero.

"In the meantime," Porlyusica picked up a basket from within her door and began walking at a brisk pace towards the trees. "You can help me replace the herbs I wasted on your medicine."

xxx

The days passed surprisingly quickly in the old healer's opinion. At first she had treated Link with the same disdain mixed with reluctant acceptance that she would any human patient; however, as time passed she noticed herself growing more comfortable with his presence. He was quiet and never bothered her with idle chatter, only asking a question now and then or answering one in turn. Hours passed between them in silence even after Link had wordlessly begun helping her with the herbs and plants around her home. She had raised an eyebrow when he had first stooped down to assist but said nothing when she noticed that he was treating the task in the same manner that she had been, something that he must have learned through careful observation.

After that she had subtly began altering how she did certain things and watched to see what he would do. She was inwardly surprised to discover that he was actively learning just by watching her and not simply imitating. Porlyusica was even more impressed when she realized that he was able to distinguish between what was beneficial and what she was deliberately trying trick him with. Although she would never admit it, it soon became a game between the two of them: she trying to trick him and he trying to distinguish between genuine and deliberate actions. Hours passed between them in this manner with neither of them saying so much as a syllable to each other.

There was also the manner by which the boy seemed to be so naturally at home in the forest. The animals that dwelled in the area never seemed bothered by his presence and at times Porlyusica herself failed to notice him even when she knew he was in the area and was doing nothing to conceal himself. In fact, abhorrent as she was to human company, she was amazed by how often she lost track of him when they were in the same clearing.

In the few conversations they did end up having he was polite, honest, and responded with genuine interest or curiosity in kind. His questions were not annoyingly meaningless or probing but reasonable and filled with thought. She was astonished by the level of wisdom and maturity he displayed during these times and she quickly agreed with Makarov that Link was much older in mind than he was in body.

Even so, despite discovering she didn't openly despise his presence, she never portrayed any emotion towards him beyond her typical stoic scowl. The only changes she made in her expression were the occasional widening of her eyes, a raised eyebrow, or a long unblinking stare. She was rather stubborn like that.

The corners of her mouth would _almost_ twitch up into a thin smile whenever Link played on his flute, an ocarina she had learned, and she was forced to admit that he was very good at it. For a while he had kept a strange routine in which he would wander to the edge of the clearing and play a specific song several times a day; always in the same spot and always the same song. She idly wondered why he did so but didn't really care enough to inquire. She got her answer when one morning after he played his song the loud whinny of a horse reverberated through the leaves in response.

The pure joy that broke across Link's face at the noise was enough to leave even Porlyusica breathless and she watched in silence as he dashed towards the sound just as a young flaxen mare burst through the trees. He cried out in happiness and threw his arms around her neck just as she skidded to a halt in front of him. She whinnied happily in response and vigorously pushed her snout into his chest. He laughed and stroked her muzzle affectionately. It didn't take a genius to realize that she belonged to Link although Porlyusica wondered how she had survived the fall when Link had been so injured.

She focused on the mare and noticed the horse was dirty and haggard, her mane and tail a tangled mess of snarls, twigs, and mud. Based on her appearance Porlyusica wouldn't have been surprised if she had landed in a pond or river in the woods. It would make her survival plausible and explain why she was so muddy despite the lack of recent rain. Either way she doubted she'd ever know for certain and the boy didn't seem to care.

Link spent the rest of the day doting on his beloved steed. He washed, scrubbed, and brushed every inch of her until all traces of dirt and mud were removed. Once washed, Link carefully combed out every snarl, briar, and bramble caught in her mane and tail, and tended to every scratch and scrape he could find. He never once paused in his work for rest or food until he was completely finished his task and revealed the beautiful and proud filly beneath the offending dirt and grime. Spryte constantly flitted about during this time, helping out where she could and engaging Link in excited chatter.

The fairy was another unique presence that Porlyusica had grown comfortable with. She was full of energy and although she was rather childish at times she could also be very serious and wise as well. The fact that she had very little experience with human society and as such carried none of the darker qualities that Porlyusica hated about them made her company rather welcome despite her occasional childishness.

Spryte seemed to radiate cheerful playfulness and constantly flitted about exploring every inch of the forest around them. Sometimes she would disappear for hours only to zip up suddenly with uncontained excitement whenever she found something particularly interesting. She was constantly chatting with Link about the things she would find and would often pull him away to show him firsthand. Both she and Link were fascinated by the creatures they discovered in the woods. There were animals familiar to them of course, but many were strange and looked like nature had taken several different parts of other creatures and jammed them together into something totally new. They spent a good deal of time discussing their discoveries.

Porlyusica was quick to notice that the fairy constantly gave off a faint glow that, while didn't always emit from her whole body, never seemed to leave her wings and only ever ceased when she was asleep or exhausted. The glow would vary in intensity depending on the fairy's mood and would also change color to reflect strong emotions although her default color was a pale, almost white, pink.

They made an interesting pair, Porlyusica decided. They had told her that the two of them had only met just before their unfortunate transportation but they had still developed a surprising bond. They would laugh, joke, and tease one another as if they'd known each other for years and shared everything. Spryte always tried to be of some use to Link and actively sought his attention and the boy in turn would always indulge the fairy and show his appreciation for her efforts. It was thanks to her that he had completely recovered after a day or two and now they only stayed in order to adjust to the new world and so Porlyusica could monitor Link's reaction to the presence of Eternano.

She checked on him several times a day and noticed that the rate at which the energy flowed through him changed constantly. Sometimes it would run through him like water down a river while other times it slowed to a trickling stream. At times the energy would swirl around in varying degrees of intensity and size within his body only to unravel and continue flowing later on. All of these changes in flow were wrought without Link's notice which puzzled her greatly.

It wasn't until one night when she went to check on him while he was asleep that she discovered something interesting. While he was sleeping the flow of Eternano would stop entirely although she could still tell it was trying to reach him. As she stood there and tried to figure out the reason for this sudden change she noticed a faint golden light creeping out from his pillow where his left arm rested. Curious, she gently extracted the limb and forcefully suppressed a gasp when she saw a symbol of three golden triangles glowing on the back of his hand. It looked like a Guild Mark…but she knew of no guild with such an image and she'd never seen one act like this before.

After staring at the strange mark in wonder for a few moments she noticed that the flow of Eternano around the boy was being drawn into the mark, explaining the sudden stop of energy going through his body. A sudden pulse of magic energy startled her and she sensed the wave travel down his arm and through the rest of his body only to slowly dissipate after. Then Eternano flowed through the boy as it did during the day for a few seconds before the triangles glowed again and the energy was drawn into it once more.

Porlyusica watched in fascination as the pattern repeated itself several times. Try as she might, she was unable to determine its purpose and the next day during her morning examination of him she could detect no noticeable change beyond a barely perceivable increase in the efficiency of the flow of energy through his body. If she hadn't been extra scrutinizing that morning it would have completely escaped her notice.

After that discovery she would check on him every night and find the phenomenon active each time. She spent hours trying to unravel that mystery and after the third night she finally saw a change. The pulse of energy that flowed through his body suddenly left behind a tiny droplet that swirled around his stomach; right where a typical magical container was located.

Realization suddenly flooded Porlyusica's mind. The mark on his hand was focusing the Eternano and allowing his body to adapt to it! It was what was allowing him to develop a magic container naturally. The pulse would flood his body with the energy, building pathways, and shocking his body with overexposure at night and during the day his body was free to adjust to the natural flow around him and cool down from the sudden concentrated blasts. It was just like lifting weights to build muscle! This unconscious process had allowed Link to develop a magical container of his own just as she had predicted. It was small now, true, but it would only continue to grow and she didn't dare try to estimate how big it could get.

It seemed it would soon be time for him to meet Makarov.

xxx

It was early afternoon when Link reached the edge of Magnolia Town, though the name was a bit of a misnomer since it was far more a city than a town. He and Spryte couldn't help but marvel at the sight of it. Not only was the city much bigger than any settlement either of them had seen before, but the buildings were of a design and style that Link was unfamiliar with. Spryte was even more awestruck as this was the first human city she had ever seen. It both frightened and excited her. She longed to fly this way and that, to explore the new sights, sounds, and smells, yet she was also afraid of the alien environment and chose to cling tightly to the cloth on Link's shoulder where she sat and remained.

They slowly made their way through the city, not out of any sense of caution, but rather in an attempt to see everything around. They saw many people bustling about their business; people carrying various items, couples walking with linked arms and laughing faces, children playing in the streets, merchants doing business, and many others. They were greeted by men steering small boats down the canals that ran through the city and many others that they passed by.

Asking for directions to the Guild Hall was met with friendly and open responses and several times they had to pause as children gleefully ran up to get a better look at Epona. He was rather surprised that he could understand and speak their language, a gift from the Goddesses although he was unaware of it, yet still able to speak in his native tongue. He was very grateful for this fact as he would be in dire straits if such a barrier existed between him and the people of this world.

The entire city radiated peace and good cheer and Link couldn't suppress the smile on his face from the atmosphere. The people wore strange clothes and he easily noticed that society seemed to be more advanced than Hyrule, but not so much that it completely overwhelmed him.

They soon came upon their destination and gazed at the large doors of the Fairy Tail Guild Hall. The building was significantly larger than any of the others nearby and far more colourful making it stand out like a sore thumb. Link couldn't help but smile as he looked at the sign over the doors.

"Fairy Tail, huh?"

"Seems like a silly name to me," huffed Spryte with puffed cheeks. "What idiot would believe that fairies have tails?"

Link chuckled. "Hey now, remember we're in a different world. Maybe the fairies here really do have tails."

"Hmmph," Spryte turned her head away and pouted. "Maybe, but until I find out otherwise I think it's stupid."

"Fair enough," Link smiled. "So what do you think about this?"

"Does it really matter at this point?" Spryte replied. "You need to learn more about this world's magic and these people did help me save you. We might never be able to return to Hyrule and if that's the case then we should make friends and allies here as soon as possible."

Link nodded in agreement before dismounting. He patted Epona's neck as he walked past her and placed a hand on the door. With a calm and smooth motion he pushed the door wide open.

xxx

"What did you call me you icy blockhead?!" Natsu growled and shoved his face directly against Gray's.

"What are you deaf? Your ears so full of hot air you can't hear? I called you an overgrown candle head!" Gray replied with equal vehemence. Sparks flew between the boys' eyes as they pushed against one another with gritted teeth.

"Alright that's enough you two!" the authoritative voice of a certain red haired girl broke through their clash as she stepped forward. "No more fighting!"

"STAY OUT OF THIS!" the two boys roared at her.

 _ ***Clunk***_

The solid sound of the two boys' heads bashing together reverberated through the guild and the two rivals slumped to two the ground in a dazed heap. Erza dusted her hands calmly as if having just finished a casual chore and walked away, leaving the two boys moaning on the floor.

"Ara, ara," Mira clucked her tongue with a cruel smirk. She stood casually leaning against the bar counter while surveying the scene. "Such a violent way to stop a fight."

"Errrzaaaaa…" Her younger sister Lisanna pouted. "Did you have to hit them so hard?"

"It's what she does," Mira lectured her. "She enjoys beating down people weaker than her, just like that boy from before."

"What was that?!" Erza growled and her gaze darkened.

"You heard me," Mira stood up straight smirked again. "Admit it, you were so focused on proving you were stronger that you didn't notice how badly he was hurt."

Erza glared at her. She didn't need her rival to remind her of the mistake she made. Some argument could be made that the boy had started the fight but later reasoning would say that he had only done so because she had taken an aggressive stance first. Either way it was she that had not noticed his injuries and continued with the fight when she could have stopped it.

Even after he had finally collapsed the sudden appearance of the fairy with him had everyone clamouring in wonder and excitement, making them all temporarily forget the boy altogether; another shameful act. She had spent every night since he was taken to Porlyusica agonizing over whether or not he was all right. Unfortunately the Master had been very close lipped on the subject leaving everyone to wonder about his condition and the circumstances surrounding him on their own.

Erza had been greatly surprised when she learned the extent of his injuries. She had been hard pressed to match him during their initial exchange even though she was able to easily overwhelm him later. That he challenged her so much with such a handicap left her both impressed at his abilities and ashamed that she wasn't similarly weakened. It had been a touchy subject for her ever since.

She spent hours replaying the scene in her mind, trying to remember the details of the fight through the flurry of movement. Some parts of it were hazy to her but one thing stood out perfectly clear: his eyes.

She remembered his piercing and unyielding blue eyes boring into hers with a gaze so intense that it was burned into her mind. They were hard, sharp, focused, analysing, impossibly deep…and familiar. They were eyes that, like her, had seen and experienced much hardship and strife; the first she had seen in one as young as she since her escape from that accursed tower. Yet, unlike her, his eyes were strong, pure, and full of resolve. She wished she had those eyes…. Eyes that would not hide her pain from others…Eyes that would not shed tears when no one watched… Eyes that would not reveal the fear in her heart.

She wanted to see him again, to apologize and to talk. She wanted to know why he could remain strong where she had become weak. Why his heart had remained intact when hers had broken. How he had pressed on where she froze in fear. She wanted to know how he had gained such eyes…

She was about to respond to her rival's challenge when the door to the guild suddenly swung open. All eyes, including hers, turned to the entrance and they gaped at what they saw. There, standing in the archway, was the very boy they were arguing about.

He stood calm and straight, surveying the guild members with a calculating scrutiny. His gaze seemed to fall on each individual and they couldn't help but feel like he was judging them through his silent inspection. Even the two semi-conscious young boys on the floor had regained enough coherence to meet his eyes. Erza tensed when his gaze fell upon her. Their eyes met in a silent exchange that lasted only a few seconds, but they felt like an eternity for her.

Finally, with a languid blink, the boy's eyes moved passed her to fall upon Mirajane, who stiffened at the sudden attention, and then toward the two boys on the floor. After he had stared at each of the mages inside, his head angled slightly upwards and he took in the general appearance of the hall itself. If he noticed that the hole he had fallen through before was already repaired he made no indication of such although anybody who bore witness to the intensity of his eyes would never believe he hadn't. Despite the famous reputation of rowdiness that Fairy Tail was known for, everyone remained silent and still as the strange boy made his inspection.

With his visual sweep complete he took a step forward unperturbed by the silence and the stares. He made his way several feet into the hall before stopping and standing still once again. He looked around once more before finally breaking the silence.

"Is Master Makarov here?" He asked politely. For a moment nobody answered his question but then a voice overhead responded.

"Ah, I see you have recovered my boy."

He looked up to see the diminutive Guild Master staring down at him from a banister on the second floor with a broad smile. A nimble jump of surprising athleticism landed him a couple of feet from the boy. He crossed his arms behind his back and greeted him cheerfully.

"I am the Guild Master, Makarov, nice to meetcha!" Makarov smiled. The boy, who seemed unsurprised by his size and acrobatics, met his greeting with a smile of his own.

"I'm Link," He introduced himself and pointed to the fairy on his shoulder. "And this is Spryte."

"Welcome to Fairy Tail's Guild Hall," Makarov bowed. "I've already had the pleasure of being introduced to your little friend, although you were not awake at the time. It's a shame that your first time here wasn't under… better circumstances."

Link chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah…Sorry about that…"

Makarov laughed. "Nonsense! Magic is a mysterious power that touches all our lives. We can't be held responsible for the things that happen around us that are beyond our control."

"So you're not mad that I got into a fight here?"

"Bah," Makarov shook his head. "Such a little scrap could hardly be called a fight in this guild. No, dear boy, it is we who should apologize for not tending to your wounds sooner than we did."

"Ah," this time it was Link who shook his head. "It's alright. I imagine my…entrance…was a bit surprising. And I did strike first so that didn't help matters either."

"A wise answer indeed. Either way, I'm glad that you are all right and that you've seem to have made a full recovery," Makarov nodded to him.

"I have, thank you," Link replied. "Porlyusica told me you wanted to see me?"

"Hmmm yes…" Makarov's voice turned more serious. "I'll be frank; you're something of an enigma to us. Porlyusica discussed a few things when you were still unconscious and we came to some rather interesting conclusions. I would hear your full story at a later time but what I want to know right now is whether or not you can use magic."

Link looked at him for a moment. "I…I'm not sure," he replied truthfully. "Your magic is different than what I am used to but Porlyusica says I that I can."

"I see, so you have developed a magic container then." Makarov lowered his gaze to the floor between them. It was a statement not a question and gave the Guild Master pause to think for a moment. After a short time he raised his head back to the youth. "I must admit that I am impressed with your ability, Link. You are clearly much more than you seem. Do you know what this place is?"

"Porlyusica said it was a guild; a gathering place for wizards." Link replied.

"That is true," Makarov nodded but continued on with a gentle smile. "But Fairy Tail is much more than just a guild. It's a place where we can develop our powers while following our hearts and our dreams and a place where friends and those without a home can call their own. In short Fairy Tail is a family and we treat our comrades as such. Their pain is our pain and their happiness is our happiness. The spirit of adventure burns within us all. Do fairies really have tails? Do they even exist... Like them, this place as an eternal mystery... A never ending adventure!"

At that proclamation all the Fairy Tail member around them that had previously been silent cheered loudly and raised their fists to the air.

Makarov grinned broadly at him and waited for the noise to subside. "That is who we are, Link. Although," he cocked his head to the side and stared at Spryte, who once again crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. "Your little friend might have something to say about that."

Link laughed. "Maybe," he replied after he reigned in his mirth. "Your guild sounds amazing, Makarov."

"Well we certainly think so," Makarov chuckled. "And since you have the potential to use magic, I'd like to extend an invitation for you to join Fairy Tail. We can teach you how to use your power and give you a place to call home."

"Well," Link tilted his head back and tapped his chin in thought. "Right now I'm alone in this world except for Spryte and my horse Epona…We're strangers to this land with no direction." He gave a light shake of his head then smiled. "I don't know what the future may bring but for now I think…I think I would like to join you."

More cheers erupted around them as Makarov extended his hand to Link who eagerly shook it.

"Well then, Link," The Guild Master grinned. "Welcome to Fairy Tail."

xxx


	3. Welcome to Fairy Tail

The Legend of Fairy Tail

Chapter 3:

Welcome to Fairy Tail

xxx

"Now then, Link, this…" Makarov held up a large stamp. "Is the Fairy Tail Guild Mark. All registered members of a guild are required to have the mark of their respective guild somewhere on their bodies. This serves as a form of identification which is recognized throughout the world. The mark can be placed anywhere and in any color you want. Where would you like yours?"

Link stared at the magical tool in silent contemplation for a moment. He had made note of the guild marks he had seen on some of the members when he had first walked in. Because he didn't see them on everyone he had at first assumed they were tattoos that some of them had voluntarily gotten, but after what the Master told him perhaps the ones he missed were hidden beneath clothes.

So now he needed to choose where he wanted his own mark and the color of it, did he?

His first thought was to color the mark green, like the rest of his attire, but he ruled that out after a moment. He reasoned that the mark identified him as a mage, a user of magic. He wanted the color to have a bit more meaning to it, one that would reflect that status rather than just choosing his favourite. He snorted in mild amusement at how obvious his choice was; after all, the greatest symbol of magic in Hyrule had always been associated with a particular color.

Now he just needed to pick where he wanted it to be.

He idly raised his left hand to glance at the Triforce symbol engraved on the back. The thought of placing the mark over top of or within the Triforce symbol passed through his mind, but that idea seemed sacrilegious in a way and he immediately cast it aside. Besides its divine origins the mark on his left hand was a symbol of where he had come from and his previous life, as such he was loathe to obscure or alter it in any way. He looked down at his right hand and debated for a moment to place the Fairy Tail mark there. He shook his head to himself, deciding that he didn't want marks on both of his hands.

Then a sudden thought occurred to him while he stared at the guild mark presented on the stamp. It kind of reminded him of the Gorons of Death Mountain and their symbol, a mark which they proudly wore on the upper part of their arms just below the shoulders.

With a light grin, Link presented his right arm to the Guild Master.

"I'd like it here," He said, tapping the spot on his upper arm. "In gold."

"Very well," Makarov nodded and pressed the stamp on his arm. It came off with a light popping noise and left behind a brightly glowing white symbol that quickly faded to reveal the Fairy Tail mark emblazoned in gold on his upper arm.

Makarov smiled to him. "Congratulations my boy, you are now an official member of Fairy Tail."

"What about me?" Spryte chimed in enthusiastically. "Do I get one?"

Makarov blinked in surprise for a moment before laughing heartily. "My dear, I would love to give you one as well. What better place for a fairy than in Fairy Tail? Unfortunately this stamp is a little big for you and I can't alter it myself due to the registration laws put forth by the Magic Council. However, I would be more than happy to get a special stamp made up just for you. You'll just have to wait a few days."

"Ok," Spryte nodded satisfactorily. "Thank you very much!"

"You are quite welcome, my dear."

Link smiled at the antics of his friend. He was eternally grateful that she had stuck with him. They had only known each other for a little while but already they shared a close bond. Saving each other's lives could do that to people.

"Your name was Link, right?"

Startled from his thoughts, the Hylian in question turned to see the red headed girl he had fought with earlier now standing before him.

"Yes, that's right," Link nodded.

"I'm Erza," She introduced herself with a light bow. "Erza Scarlet."

"It's nice to meet you Erza," Link smiled lightly to her. He was glad that she had approached him. He had wanted to talk to her and her appearance saved him the trouble of seeking her out. "I wish our first meeting had been under better circumstances and I'm sorry I attacked you before."

Erza flinched. "Yes…about that…" She spoke slowly, clearly nervous about the topic. "It is I who should apologize to you. I should not have presented myself as a threat, especially with your injuries."

"It's alright," Link waved her off. "It was a confusing moment for everyone."

"Even so, I should have noticed how badly you were hurt. Instead I chose to fight an injured opponent and only aggravated your wounds. I cannot begin to say how sorry I am for that and I feel that you should strike me for my ignorance."

Link blinked at her. That was different.

"Come again?"

Erza balled her fists in determination and squared her shoulders. "I want you to hit me. I deserve nothing less."

"Why would you want him to hit you?" Spryte asked in alarm and floated between them.

Erza looked surprised at being addressed directly by the fairy but quickly steeled herself again.

"Because I got caught up in the fight and struck him with unnecessary force while he was injured and should have been receiving medical attention. This is my penance."

"Your penance?" Link quirked an eyebrow. "But I already told you it's fine. Mistakes happen, no one is perfect."

"I cannot accept that." Erza shook her head vehemently.

Link stared at her unblinking for a moment, then he turned his gaze to Spryte who merely shrugged and moved aside. He sighed and stepped towards the scarlet haired girl. If she was so determined to see this through then he would oblige her.

"Are you sure about this?"

She nodded.

"Here goes then," He said resolutely and cocked a fist back. Erza shut her eyes and gritted her teeth in preparation for the blow. She waited…and waited…but the blow never came. Confused, she opened her eyes and found Link's hand hovering right in front of her face, only not in a fist. Instead his middle finger was curled inward and Erza had only a second to register what he was about to do before a sharp flick rapped the middle of her forehead.

"Ow!" She winced from the sudden sting and rubbed the spot with her hand.

"You satisfied now?" Link drawled and crossed his arms.

"What?" Erza gazed at him incredulously. "That's it?"

Link nodded, "You asked me to hit you and I did. You didn't say how hard I had to do it."

"But-"

"Look," Link interrupted with a wave of his hand. "It was an honest mistake and one that I am also to blame for because I attacked first. You were defending yourself and the guild from a possible threat and I'm no stranger to that concept. You did nothing wrong, and frankly I've been through worse."

"But-"

"No buts," now he glared at her. "I've already done what you asked. Don't ask me to do it again, cause I won't."

Erza continued to stare at him with a stunned expression before she slowly smiled. "Very well, thank you for fulfilling my request."

"Awww, looks like the blondie took it easy on ya Erzy," the mocking voice of a white haired girl about Erza's age and wearing very scanty Goth themed clothes rang out towards them. "He probably thought you were too weak take it."

Erza's demeanour instantly turned murderous and she whirled on the girl. "YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME, YOU UGLY HAG?!"

"ANYTIME, THUNDER THIGHS!"

The two girls charged towards each other and met in the center of the guild hall, smashing their hands and faces together in a mad bid for dominance while ceaselessly hurtling insults at one another. Both Link and Spryte gaped at the sight, not just at the fight between the two girls but also the fact that nobody seemed to care about doing anything about it.

"I…take it this happens a lot?" Link asked to no one in particular.

"Oh, don't mind them," a new voice spoke up and Link turned to see a little girl a few years younger than him wearing a pink collared sundress with sleeves approach. She had white hair the same shade as the girl picking a fight with Erza but worn in a bob cut as opposed to the Goth girls pony tail. She was followed by a young boy wearing a rather nice looking blue suit with a red string tie. "They're always like that. I'm Lisanna Straus and this is my big brother Elfman, the one fighting with Erza is our older sister Mirajane. Anyway, we just wanted to welcome you to Fairy Tail."

Link smiled at them. "Nice to meet you, Lisanna, Elfman and thank you."

"Hi there!" Spryte flitted forward and bobbed eagerly in front of Lisanna. "I'm Spryte!"

"Hello, Spryte," Lisanna giggled cheerfully and stared in wonder at the glowing fairy, her translucent wings shedding faint specs of glowing dust with each rapid beat. "Wow…You're so pretty! I love your wings!"

"You think so?" Spryte clapped her hands with glee and flew around the young girl in a rapid spiral, causing her to giggle some more. "Thank you very much!"

"Heh," Link chuckled. "Looks like you have a fan, Spryte."

"You're just jealous," the fairy smirked imperiously at him but before Link could make a rebuttal, a pink haired boy wearing a white scaled scarf leapt towards them.

"Hi, I'm Natsu!" The boy grinned broadly at the two of them.

"Hey!" Spryte huffed angrily at him, her good mood immediately vanishing. "You're the one that thought I was a bug!"

"Eh-heh, sorry about that," Natsu scratched his head sheepishly. "I shoulda guessed you weren't a firefly cause you sure smell a lot better than any bug I know of."

Spryte wasn't too sure how to respond to that.

"So, Link," Natsu eagerly continued, oblivious to the fairy's indignant expression. "Are you all better now?"

"Uh…yeah," Link nodded.

"Allright!" The pink haired boy pumped his fist in excitement. His broad grin spread from ear to ear as he bounced on his toes. "You're strong right? Everyone says you must be pretty tough to fight against Erza with all those injuries."

Link blinked at the sudden question. "I can hold my own I guess."

"That's awesome!" If possible, Natsu's grin only widened. "Will you fight me?"

Link blinked again. "Fight...you? Why?"

That question seemed to puzzle the pink haired boy. "Because you say you're strong, why else?"

That statement surprised Link. While he remembered having play fights at times with his fellow Kokiri, after he had taken up the sword in defence of his land he could not recall ever having fought just for the sake of it. Each time he had drawn his blade had invariably been meant to further his cause in some way. To be asked by someone to fight in earnest like this for no other apparent reason than they wanted to was a new experience for him.

"You should do it, Link," Spryte chirped up from her position hovering by his head. "It would be good for you to see where you stand in this world."

"Uh…" Link glanced at her for a moment before turning back to Natsu who was eagerly awaiting his reply. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah!"

"Well ok then," Link smiled and stood up. "Lead the way."

He could tell that Natsu was more than ready to trade blows right then and there but Link didn't think it was a good idea to fight in the guild hall. Instead they headed outside behind the building. Most of the guild came to watch and formed a large crowd off to the side. All of them enjoyed watching a good fight and everyone was curious about the newest member of the guild, so it really was no big surprise that they all filed out after them. Even Mira and Erza had broken off their own squabble to view the match.

"Alright!" Natsu shouted and cracked his knuckles. "I'm all fired up now! This is gonna be awesome!"

His enthusiasm was so contagious that Link couldn't help but crack a smile as well. Seeing that Natsu didn't have any weapons with him, Link settled into loose ready position with his hands raised. While he mostly fought with a sword and shield, he was not a stranger to fighting with his hands. Being in the bodies of both a Zora and a Goron saw to that.

While peaceful and so laid back that they could easily be considered lazy, Gorons were devastatingly powerful. Their physical strength was only matched by the most monstrous of Ganondorf's creatures and even then certain Gorons became greater still. The mighty Biggoron used the volcanic crater of Death Mountain as a forge and had once taken a full blown eruption to the face. The only injury he had suffered was from irritated eyes that were easily fixed by a couple of eye drops.

Being as strong as they were, it was only natural that they fought with their fists. Darmani, the Goron whose body he took whenever he wore the mask, had been particularly adept at smashing things with his fists.

The Zora, on the other hand, were the physically weakest of the three main tribes of Hyrule excluding the Kokiri. However, that didn't mean they were pushovers. Zora's were the most agile, even on land, and possessed natural weapons in their razor sharp fins. They had developed a deadly fighting style that made use of their speed and agility to great effect. The Zora, Mikau, whose spirit resided in the mask Link used to transform, had been a master at this hand to hand form of combat on top of being a star guitarist.

Spending so much time in bodies with such knowledge and abilities had caused some of that knowledge to bleed over to his normal self, making Link a force to be reckoned with even unarmed.

"Here we go!" Natsu roared his challenge and lunged forward. Link blinked in shock at the surprising burst of speed and only had time to cross his arms in defence before Natsu smashed a fist against him. The force of the attack sent him sliding back a couple of feet, though he remained standing, and made him wince in pain.

By the Goddesses…Natsu was STRONG!

His physical abilities were much greater than Link had expected, especially from a boy both smaller and younger than his current body.

' _Is it because of the magic in him?'_ Link wondered as he silently measured his opponent in a new light. ' _Porlyusica said the physical abilities of mages surpassed those of normal people but even so…that was surprising.'_

Regardless of this new turn of events Link was not worried. The vast majority of his battles had been against opponents whose physical abilities surpassed his, this fight was no different.

He calmly uncrossed his arms and gave them a quick shake to dispel the last of the pain and regain full feeling in them before once again readying himself, never having once shifted his gaze away from the pink haired boy in front of him as he did.

Again, Natsu charged at him but this time Link was prepared. In a swift, fluid motion that spoke of skill cultivated from a life of combat, Link pivoted away from his strike, spinning as he did so that he faced Natsu's back, allowing the boy to pass by like water flowing past a stone. Natsu quickly recovered and turned to attack once again. He pressed Link back with a barrage of punches and kicks that he was forced to either block or dodge. Occasionally Natsu would score a glancing blow that made Link wince but he was never able to land a direct hit on the young Hylian.

Link saw his chance when Natsu overextended a punch and he capitalized on the moment by driving his own fist into Natsu's cheek. The boy stumbled back from the blow but quickly brushed the attack aside and smirked.

"That all you got?" He challenged with manic enthusiasm. "You don't even hit as hard as that sissy stripper, Gray!"

"Oi!" The aforementioned boy shouted from the crowd. "You wanna go flame breath?!"

Whatever argument that developed between the two after that didn't register in Link's mind as he was too deep in his own thoughts, a slight frown crossing his face. Natsu's declaration, he was certain, carried with it more truth than bravado and that troubled him. Link knew that he was by no means weak; in Hyrule he was considered to be in top physical condition and could match people several years older than him in terms of strength. That Natsu, a boy at least a year younger than him, could take a full force punch to the face and treat it like it was nothing spoke volumes about the physical capabilities of a wizard. He knew then that he couldn't hope to match the pink haired boy, or any other wizard for that matter, by going head to head like this.

At least not yet.

' _Well, I guess I'll just have to fight smarter,'_ Link smiled to himself and tightened his fists.

This time he lunged towards Natsu, breaking up the verbal fight between him and Gray, and imitated his first charging punch. Natsu dodged by stepping aside but Link had counted on this. He tilted his punch as he moved by and planted a hand on the ground before curling into a tight forward roll. The instant his feet were back underneath him he spun low, still crouched, and knocked Natu's legs out from under him with a sweeping kick. The pink haired mage let out a cry of surprise as his back hit the ground. Before he could react Link had sprung up from the ground into a tight and fast front flip, extending a leg as he did so, and heel dropped him in the stomach.

"GAK!" Natsu lurched, spittle flying from his mouth, and coughed. Improved physicality or not, a kick like that hurt.

Link quickly back-rolled away from him and up to his feet, settling back into his ready position, and waited for Natsu to rise. The pink haired boy did so jerkily with coughing, haggard breaths that tried to force air into his lungs. Cheers erupted around them from the voices of the other Fairy Tail mages at the turnabout display of skill but the exact details of their words were lost to Link who kept his attention solely focused on the slowly rising boy.

"Heh, nice one!" Natsu gasped out between mouthfuls of air, the huge grin on his face belying the event that had just taken place. "But you better step it up cause I'm about to beat the green outta ya!"

With that he launched towards Link again with his fist cocked back. This time Link did not step out of the way. Instead, when Natsu's thrust his fist towards his face, Link bent over backwards into a handspring that not only let him dodge the blow but also let him bring his foot up to crash into Natsu's chin. The brutal counter instantly stopped Natsu's charge and knocked him off his feet.

Before the pink haired boy could hit the ground Link lunged forward and smashed a knee into his gut. Natsu doubled over in pain but Link did not stop and spun to grab the boys arm and throw him over his shoulder into the ground. Immediately following the impact Link quickly manoeuvred himself and Natsu so that he was leaning on Natsu's prone form with a knee in his back and his arm twisted up behind him.

An absolute stillness fell upon them, Natsu's pained gasps the only sounds heard.

It had all happened so fast and so unexpectedly that the sudden end left everyone stunned. A few moments passed in this manner until everyone suddenly broke out in cheers. While not the best fight any of them had ever seen by far, it had still been a good bout and Link's display of skill had impressed them. Makarov in particular stroked his chin with a thoughtful, but amused, expression on his face. He had watched the entire fight with a critical eye and his attention had been entirely focused on the green clad boy. What he saw had only confirmed his earlier suspicions about the boy being a seasoned warrior.

He had seen it in his demeanour.

At first the boy had seemed as carefree as Natsu; cheerful and ready for a light spar. But as the fight had progressed he had seen that attitude change. The changes were slight and barely noticeable; a minor shift in posture here, a small twitch in muscles there, and the dilation of pupils. Despite their seeming insignificance those subtle changes spoke volumes to the old man. They showed Makarov at what point Link had stopped sparring and started fighting.

That last move hadn't been one meant for a spar, but it wasn't the motions that made it so – it was the intent behind them. Somewhere during their fight Link had let his mind go and allowed his body to follow its instincts. Normally fighting by pure instinct was dangerous because while instinctual impulses could potentially save one's life and even allow you to perform feats the rational mind cannot, they could also get you killed. The same holds true for over thinking, another problem where a person gets so muddled up in the options of an action that they are unable to take one before it's too late.

What Link had done was different. He had acted on instinct but his head had still been in control. He had achieved a state where the mind governed the body without thought. A state where his disciplined mind was aware of all possibilities but his body instinctually chose the best option based on the actions of his opponent. Such a feat spoke of vast experience in life or death battles where a single mistake could be a mortal one. During that brutal counter Link had no longer been sparring, no longer participating in a friendly duel meant to gauge one another's strength, instead he had begun to truly fight and his body chose a course of action intended to decisively end the conflict without question to the victor.

Makarov was unsure if the action had been on purpose or if Link's battle instincts had simply taken over. Even now he watched the boy blink and refocus his eyes as if coming down from some adrenaline induced high. The Guild Master let out a short non-committal grunt. Whether the attack was instinctual or not didn't really matter; the results spoke for themselves.

' _Such potential…I wonder how strong he will become…'_

xxx

Erza watched the fight with rapt attention. Though she had apologized to Link earlier, she still felt guilty about what had happened between them. She had wallowed in shame for days over the incident and when she finally had the chance to atone, his response, or lack thereof, had thrown her for a loop. She had expected Link to be angry, but instead he had waved the incident off like it was nothing and even turned her demand around on her in a way that brokered an end to the entire discussion.

It was a surprising conclusion and one that she was not entirely satisfied with. Still, there was little she could do about it now.

With her apology out of the way, she had wanted to ask him a few questions that had plagued her ever since he had been taken to Porlyusica. Unfortunately her chance was interrupted by the insufferable Mirajane, and then Natsu had challenged him to a spar.

However Erza was not actually upset with this turn of events, quite the contrary, she was actually glad for it. She would have time to speak with Link at length later on, for now she was interested in seeing his ability. From what little she had gathered from speaking with the Master, Erza knew that Link had not possessed magical capabilities when they had fought. Yet despite this handicap he had proved a surprising challenge for her even though he was also heavily injured. The fight with Natsu was a good opportunity to see Link's strength unhindered by his previous wounds and what she saw impressed her.

She had noted the surprise on Link's face upon receiving Natsu's opening strike. This only confirmed the truth about his lack of a magic container. What followed next was a rather impressive display of skill that culminated in a punch of Link's own. It was a decisive hit and one that if she herself had landed on the pink haired Dragon Slayer would have ended the fight right then and there. But Natsu had shrugged off the blow rather easily and she could tell that Link had been surprised by that.

For once, she ignored the banter that had erupted between Natsu and Gray and instead kept her attention focused on Link. She watched him stare at his fist and then at Natsu with a thoughtful expression. Erza wondered what thoughts could be going through his head. While Link was apparently at hand to hand combat, it was also obvious to her that the boy did not specialize in fighting unarmed like Natsu did. As such he was at a disadvantage not only in that aspect, but also because he couldn't match the Dragon Slayer's physicality. Despite this, she could perceive no hint of nervousness or fear from him. Actually she couldn't detect any emotion from him at all beyond the contemplative look on his face, if that could be called an emotion.

Then he smiled.

It was light and appeared slowly but it was definitely a smile. Erza's breath hitched slightly at the sight, the pause so small she didn't even notice it. The expression on his face was one of confidence, calm and eagerness all at once and raised many questions in Erza's mind. Why was he so calm? What was he going to do next? Why was there no hint of doubt? These questions and others rapidly shot through her mental faculties without answer and it galled her that they remained so.

She was no stranger to the overconfidence and bravado that many of the mages in Fairy Tail exhibited, particularly that of Natsu and Gray, and would have understood if Link had used such tactics to push aside his own fears and nervousness. She herself hid behind such protection, perhaps even more so than anyone else in the guild. But Link's expression displayed none of this; no false pretences and no verbal motivation. There was no deceit at all. He was absolutely sure of himself.

She couldn't suppress the shudder that ran down her spine. She had only seen such an expression on one other person before: the same boy who had given her the name, Scarlet.

Erza clenched her fists and tightened her jaw at the memory. She barely registered Link initiating an attack on Natsu but her attention refocused in time to see him bring the young fire mage to the ground. It was a brilliant move, well executed and perfectly timed. Erza eyes widened slightly in surprise; the fight had taken an unexpected turn and once again she focused entirely on it. She watched as Natsu attacked again only to be brought down once more by a devastating counter that clearly ended the fight.

While cheers broke the brief silence that followed, Erza remained quiet. She had noticed something during that last exchange, a…change of sorts in Link's demeanour. She couldn't place what brought it on or even what said change really was, but something had been different about Link and that only added another question to her thoughts.

She frowned. It was time to get some answers for herself.

xxx

Link grinned as he helped Natsu back to his feet. The pink haired Dragon Slayer winced and rotated his shoulder to relieve the fading of pain.

"Good fight," He grinned back at Link. "But I'll beat you next time!"

Link chuckled lightly but nodded in response. He didn't say anything because he was too busy going over everything he had learned from that fight. It had been an enlightening experience.

"Yes, that was certainly a good display of skill," a new voice interrupted his thoughts. He looked up to see Erza walking forward with a confident smirk. "But I believe that you are more suited to swordplay, are you not?"

Link eyed the sabre at her side for a moment then nodded. "I am."

Erza smiled and drew her blade. "Well then since you've recovered your strength, why don't we have a rematch? I'm curious to see how strong you really are."

Link stared at her for a moment before a light smile crossed his face and he drew his own sword. Erza nodded in satisfaction and the two of them settled into their own respective stances. They stared each other down in silence for several moments before, as if triggered by some unseen signal, they launched towards one another, their blades meeting with a resounding clang of metal on metal.

Link openly balked at the force he felt when their blades clashed. He had only vaguely recalled some of the details about their previous fight and so he was unaware of her actual capabilities. He had, of course, expected her to be more physically powerful than him, just like Natsu had been, but that expectation had not prepared him at all for that first strike. Natsu had been strong, no doubt about that, but Erza…Erza was different.

She wasn't just strong; she was RIDICULOUSLY strong.

His entire arm had gone numb and he barely managed to maintain his grip on his sword.

His expression turned incredulous and he stared into her eyes with open amazement, their locked blades having brought their faces close. Erza smirked at his bewildered countenance and pushed him back, separating their blades, and lunging forward to strike again. She slashed horizontally at him but he agilely back flipped out of harms reach and then hopped away a few more steps to create some distance.

Erza placed her free hand on her hip and tilted her head slightly to the side to meet his gaze with an almost mocking expression. Link took the time to gather his bearings and regard her in a new light.

' _By the Goddesses…it's like sword fighting a Goron…a Goron the same size and even faster than me!'_

He took another moment to marvel at her power before he shook his head, cleared his thoughts, and tightened the grip on his sword. Erza smirked once more when she saw this and the two of them lunged towards each other once again.

Erza slashed, but Link parried the blow and countered with a thrust. She avoided it easily and struck again only to be deflected once more. This pattern continued for a while, both fighters striking, countering, and striking again in a wild dance of blades. Erza's eyes narrowed while they exchanged blows as she noticed something interesting about their clashes. Every single one of her attacks had either been dodged or deflected; not once did Link attempt to block her directly. She could not say the same.

Their fast paced exchanges quickly revealed something to the red haired mage that surprised her greatly and caused her chest to tighten.

Link was better than she was.

It was a hard truth that, while not causing her any anger, did raise a great amount of alarm. Erza was not overconfident in her abilities, just the opposite actually; she was acutely aware of what she was capable of and where she stood in terms of strength with her peers. She was not arrogant enough to believe she was invincible; her own troubled past proved quite the contrary. Therefore, with the knowledge of her own limits clear in her mind, Erza could not deny that Link was the better swordsman.

She outclassed him in every other way, physically and magically, yet he was able to trade blows with her on equal ground. It was…exhilarating and Erza couldn't suppress the smile that slowly spread on her face. She attacked with greater ferocity and slowly began to push Link back. She grinned widely, elated by her gained advantage, and struck with a powerful overhead slash. Link jumped back and her sword struck ground, gouging the earth and throwing up rocks and dirt from the force.

Link crouched low, one hand gripping the dirt as he slid back. As soon as he came to a halt he rose up and rocketed back towards her, switching his sword to his left hand as he did. Erza blinked in surprise at the sudden change and quickly raised her sword up overhead with one hand bracing the flat of her blade to block his attack. His downward slash had been faster and more forceful than any of his previous attacks and made Erza's eyes widen in surprise.

He'd been fighting her with his weaker hand.

Throughout the fight they had alternated between one handed and two handed strikes as the flow of battle dictated, but Link had fought with his right hand dominate and the sudden switch to his good hand had broken the rhythm the two of them had established. Now it was Erza's turn to be pressed back. She struggled for a moment under his onslaught but even though she had been surprised by the change, she held strong and quickly adapted. They were evenly matched once again and Erza's excitement grew even more.

Never before had she fought a battle like this.

While this was not her toughest fight or her strongest opponent, Link drove her to a point beyond what anyone else had before; a battle of pure skill in her own chosen field of expertise. True, she wanted to make it a fair fight and so was holding back quite a bit, not using her magic actively nor taking full advantage of her physical superiority, but even so Link challenged her in a way no one else had. She grinned again, perhaps it was time to step things up a bit.

She lunged forward once more and Link prepared to meet her. Erza smirked as he readied his defense and just before she met him, she raised her empty hand and summoned her magic power.

" **Requip!** "

Link's eyes widened in shock as another sword appeared in her hand and he was forced to dodge unceremoniously to the side in an awkward roll to avoid her sudden two pronged attack. Even before he had fully regained his footing, his shield was in hand and he braced for the impact he knew would be coming. He was not disappointed and his teeth rattled when Erza battered him with a powerful blow. He slid back a few feet from the force but he quickly regained his form and settled back into a ready position.

Erza smirked at him again and slid into her own stance, one sword angled towards him in front and the other raised overhead. This time it was Link who charged first, smashing his sword against Erza who crossed her blades in defense. It was her turn to be surprised when Link immediately spun and smashed his shield against her guard. She stumbled back and was forced to jump away to avoid Link's follow up slash.

The scarlet haired mage banished her swords and clapped her hands together to materialize the same halberd she had defeated him with before. She charged him and thrust the bladed point forward. Link deflected the attack with his shield and tried to counter but was forced to defend with his sword when Erza swung the butt end of the spear at him.

Erza continued to press her attack, whirling like a red dervish, striking and countering with all parts of her halberd. Link met her ferocious onslaught with an impeccable defense that denied all of her blows, his curved shield greatly aiding him against her strength. Unfortunately, though he was able to defend, he was unable to find an opportunity to go on the offensive. Another solid strike against his shield sent him skidding back once more and created some space between them.

The red headed young girl gazed at her opponent with an analytical expression as she took in his features. Despite the ferocity and exertions of the fight, Link remained calm and poised; his breathing a bit deeper than before but still regular and his posture showed no signs of weariness despite his dishevelled appearance that would have indicated otherwise.

She couldn't help but admire him.

He was so much stronger without magic than she had ever been and it amazed her that one so young could possess such strength.

' _What would he have done had he been there?'_ She wondered to herself as painful memories of her childhood flashed through her mind. _'If he had been with us, would things have been different?'_

Erza shook her head slightly to clear her thoughts. It wouldn't do to dwell on such things; she needed to focus on the present. Even so, her brief lapse into the past brought her attention back to the feature that had originally sparked her interest in the blonde haired swordsman: his eyes.

His piercing gaze had never once wavered from her and she could see an endless depth in them that spoke of many things. She wanted to know what he had gone through to gain such eyes and exactly what it was that she saw in them. Erza had seen a look similar to her own in them, but there was something different as well and she had desperately wanted to know what that was. His fight with Natsu and now with her had shown her that difference. She had seen in his eyes an unshakable resolve in the face of a harsh life; the ability to persevere and overcome all trials.

Eyes with strength she never possessed.

This fight had been more than she had dared hoped it would be. She had learned much and the challenge the fight presented excited her. However, there was one last thing she wanted to experience first-hand. She had seen it during the fist fight with Natsu; a moment when Link's presence had changed.

Erza knew that Link was much more adept with a sword than he was his fists and perhaps that was why, despite the much higher level of combat they had engaged in, that shift in presence had not made itself known. She frowned slightly and tightened her grip on her halberd. She wanted to see that presence for herself and there was only one way to bring it out of him.

It was time to step it up.

She darted forward with a mad burst of speed that caught Link off guard once more. His eyes widened and he desperately threw up a haphazard defense. He may as well have been standing behind a soap bubble. Erza easily broke through his guard and struck him with the shaft of her halberd, sending him flying back. He landed with a grunt of pain but he rolled with his momentum and flipped back to his feet when his back hit the ground to try and regain his footing. He was given no chance to recover before Erza was flying towards him once more, her halberd raised high overhead.

Link was barely able to move aside before the scarlet headed girl cratered the ground where he had just been. Erza darted after him and thrust the butt of her weapon into his gut, causing spittle to fly from the blonde's mouth. She followed through with a solid spinning sidekick into his chest that once again knocked him skidding on his back. The moment his movement came to a halt Link had to roll away when his gaze registered Erza falling towards him. She planted the blade of her halberd into the ground, missing him by inches. Rather than trying to wrench it free she abandoned the weapon and lunged towards Link again, Requipping her sword once more.

She attacked ferociously, but this time Link was able to kip up to his feet and avoid her. He tried to counter but Erza easily broke his attack and scored a powerful palm thrust to his chest that sent him reeling. She struck again and Link was finally forced to block her sword directly. The force of the impact brought the young Hylian to his knee with a cry and Erza kicked him away again. She charged forward once more intent on continuing her onslaught.

That was when she saw it. The change she had been trying to force out of him.

She had barely noticed it when he fought Natsu, but now it stood out to her like a beacon. His posture shifted, his muscles tensed, and his pupils dilated to an intense degree. The shift in presence was slight and would barely be noticeable to an onlooker, but to Erza Scarlet the change was so profound that she almost faltered in her attack.

Link's eyes no longer focused on her; they pierced right through. It felt like he saw her in her entirety, focused on nothing but seeing everything, every minute detail, all at once. She felt naked under such a gaze.

It was like she was fighting a whole new person.

She watched him shift his stance and move his sword to the side with both hands gripping the hilt. She could sense that he was putting his all into this next attack but it was too late to alter her course. The only thing she could do was strike at the same time he swung his blade.

A flash of steel filled the air followed by the clang of metal. Erza stood a short distance behind Link in a slight crouch, her sword held out to the side. Link's blade spun through the air and sank into the ground several feet away as the young Hylian dropped to the ground in defeat.

The fight was over. She had won.

Erza stood up straight and turned to gaze at him with an almost serene expression on her face. She was about to make a comment when she suddenly felt her hair tumble free of its braid and her eyes widened in shock. She reached up with a tentative hand touch her scarlet tresses and was stunned even further when she felt a shift around her chest. She watched in disbelief as her breastplate fell from her body and clattered to the ground.

She gaped at the broken pieces of her armour in silence, not registering the cheers and raucous noise her fellow guild mates made with the conclusion of the duel. There was only one thought that filled her mind right now.

She had won the fight, but the only reason it hadn't been a draw was because of her armour.

xxx

When Link regained consciousness, he was surprised to find himself lying in a bed. He looked around and spotted Spryte sitting on the edge of a bed side table playing with a knotted string. She beamed when she noticed him awake and fluttered daintily into the air.

"You're finally awake!" She chirped cheerfully and watched him sit up.

"How long was I out?" Link rubbed his forehead blearily.

"A few hours, Erza hit you pretty hard."

Link snorted. That was an understatement. He patted his chest, wondering why there was no wound where there should have been. Erza had, after all, struck him dead on with a sword. Maybe it had something to do with her magic?

"The mages here are incredible," he stated after a moment.

"Yeah, it seems so," Spryte agreed. "I never would have guessed that Erza would be that strong. I mean, you're the Hero of Time and she beat you pretty bad! Not only that, but from what everyone else says, she was holding back quite a bit."

Link nodded. "Yeah, I figured that. Natsu was as well. Did you notice that neither of them used their magic actively in either fight? I think they were trying to make it fair for me."

"Indeed they were," a new voice broke into their conversation. The two of them turned to see Makarov walking towards them with his hands clasped behind his back. "Both of them were aware of your current limitations with magic and so they checked themselves accordingly. It would not have been fair otherwise." A cheerful grin appeared on his face, "Even so, I must say my boy, you showed an impressive display of ability. I have never seen someone as young as you be so strong without magic."

"Thank you," Link inclined his head to the old master. "But I had to become this strong."

"Indeed," Makarov nodded. "Would you care to share your story with me? I am most intrigued by your arrival and I'm sure you have questions for me as well."

Link looked at the old man for a moment before turning a quizzical eye towards Spryte. The fairy smiled and nodded in response. The young Hylian shrugged and then explained as much as he could to the Guild Master without delving into too personal or sensitive detail.

He explained how he grew up in the Lost Woods, the events that led him to leaving the forest, and the subsequent quest to defeat Ganondorf. He told of his struggles and the challenges he had to overcome as well as the battles he had to fight in order to succeed. His retelling of the final battle between him and the Gerudo King of Thieves held both Makarov and Spryte in silent rapture.

When he told them how Zelda sent him back in time and his partner, Navi, left him, Spryte began to silently cry. She knew how much the separation had hurt both of them.

Link then went on to tell how he eventually came to the decision to search for Navi and subsequently ended up on another adventure in the parallel world of Termina. Makarov raised an eyebrow at this and when Link explained how he had to relive the same three days over and over in order to accomplish everything that needed to be done.

Finally he recounted the events that led him to meeting Spryte and how they had both ended up being sucked into the sky by a giant vortex and ended up crashing through the guild roof.

When he finally finished his tale, Makarov could only shake his head in wonder.

"Incredible…that is a truly remarkable tale, my boy."

He believed every word of it of course. The detail and sincerity that Link had spoken with left no doubt to the truthfulness of his words and the story itself explained much. No wonder Link was so strong and possessed the deep eyes that he did. The young man had journeyed through time to save not just one, but two worlds from certain destruction; adventures that resulted in him gathering an impossible amount of experience. It wasn't just that he had been forced to mature faster than normal, his mind and his spirit were literally older than his physical body.

"Wow," Spryte spoke up, her voice filled with awe and admiration. "We fairies know a little bit about what you did…but I never expected the details of your life to be...to be…" She struggled to find an adequate description, but eventually gave up, "well, to be like that." She stared at him in silence for a moment before slowly drifting down to eye level to place a tender kiss on the end of his nose. "Thank you for saving our land. You are truly worthy of your title."

Link blushed lightly and reached for her, but the energetic fairy darted backwards and stuck out her tongue impishly. "And now you're stuck with me, which means: I get to be a part of your adventures!"

The young hero looked startled by the sudden reverse in demeanour but then he burst out laughing, "Yeah, I guess it does at that."

Makarov smiled at the two and waited for the laughter to die down before he cleared his throat.

"If you are feeling better, I'd like to show you something. Please follow me."

Link blinked in surprise but wasted no time in hopping out of the bed and following the elderly man out of the infirmary. The Guild Hall was empty and Makarov explained that everyone had gone home for the day, although he had to send off a few of the ones who lingered around hoping to see Link when he woke up. Erza had been included in that number.

"There will be plenty of time for talking later. Right now I believe something else is more important."

Makarov led the two of them to the back of the Guild Hall and into a large, dark room. The Guild Master turned a knob by the door which caused several lanterns and mounted Light Lacrima to illuminate the area. Link's eyes widened in surprise when the light revealed walls lined with enormous shelves that stretched from the ground all the way to the several story high ceiling and were packed to the brim with hundreds and hundreds of books. It was an impressive sight that even left Spryte speechless.

"This is the Fairy Tail Guild Archives," Makarov explained as he walked down a set of stairs to the ground level. "All of Fairy Tail's records and knowledge is kept here, including books on magic. Only members of the Guild are allowed access to this room." The diminutive old man turned to face the young man following him, cupping his hands behind his back as he did so. "I'm sure you have many questions and things you wish to learn about this world and I will do my best to help you, but I believe you will find many of the answers you seek here."

Link eyed the thousands of books around him with no small amount of trepidation and Makarov couldn't help but chuckle at the young lad's expression. Deciding to give the boy a starting point, he extended one of his arms using magic and retrieved three books from various places around the room. He grinned when he saw Link gape at the minor display of his Titan Magic and presented the books to him.

"This will be a good place for you to start. The first book is a brief history of Earth Land with a more central focus on the Kingdom of Fiore, where we are currently located. The second book is an introduction to magic and its basics. I would highly recommend you read that one thoroughly as it will be an essential base for developing your own magical abilities. The last is a basic tome of Requip Magic. It is the same magic that Erza used to switch weapons during your fight. While you don't have to look at that one, I thought that as a swordsman it might interest you."

"Thank you," Link took the books presented to him with a smile and a bow of his head.

"If you need anything or have any questions that come up, do not hesitate to ask myself or anyone else in the guild," The master smiled at him. "I'm sure those young whelps would jump at the chance to show you their magic. Feel free to spend as much time as you would like here."

With that, the old man left Link and Spryte to their own devices and exited the archive room. Link strode over to a nearby table and carefully arranged the books he was given out in front of him.

"So where are you gonna start?" Spryte asked curiously as she bobbed in the air over the tomes.

Link sighed and scratched the back of his head. "As much as I would like to jump into learning about magic, it would probably be a good idea to learn more about this world in general, especially if we're going to be here for the foreseeable future."

"Hmmm…that would make sense," Spryte nodded in agreement.

Link reached for the history book and opened it up to the first page. He stared at the page for a moment and blinked. Then blinked again.

He couldn't read a single word of it.

"I can't make heads or tails of this," Link huffed in annoyance and tilted his head to his fairy friend. "Can you?"

Spryte stared at the text on the page for a moment, "I think so…" She squinted and tilted her head to the side, an action that made her look absolutely adorable but Link didn't comment on it. "It's a little fuzzy but it seems to clear up the longer I look at it."

Link gave a non-committal grunt and focused back on the writing. He tilted his head from side to side and scrunched up his eyes in an attempt to change how he looked at the text, but the words remained illegible to him. He was about to slam the book closed in frustration and find Makarov to address this unfortunate problem when, suddenly, a soft glow appeared on the back of his hand. Startled, both Link and Spryte gazed at Triforce symbol on his left hand in surprise. The bottom left triangle, the symbol of the Triforce of Wisdom, was emitting a soft golden light.

Link stared at it in wonder for a moment before he noticed something out of the corner of his eye and turned his attention back to the open book. The words on the page appeared hazy and seemed to waver in his vision. He stared at the page in confusion as the words blurred more and more until they looked like nothing more than blobs of dark ink on the lighter paper. He blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes in an attempt to clear his vision. Afterwards, he focused on the page once more and slowly, ever so slowly, the blobs spread back out into discernable letters. The young hero's jaw dropped when the words became fully visible once more.

He could understand them.

Link gazed sharply at his hand, then back to the page, then back to his hand.

"Oh!" Spryte exclaimed in surprise, making him snap his attention to her. "I can read it clearly now!"

Link binked at her in surprise while the young fairy, now standing near the top of the page with her back to him, hummed cheerfully and bent at the waist with her hands on her knees to examine the words.

He was really confused now.

Why had the mark on his hand allowed BOTH of them to read the book? He could understand if it was just him, seeing as how he bore the mark, but Spryte too? That just didn't make sense. He wracked his brain trying to come up with a reasonable explanation but after a while he gave up and let out a sigh. It was probably something he wouldn't be able to figure out on his own and so he chose to chalk it up as another gift from the Goddesses.

"So can I," Link told her and scratched the side of his head. "I guess that's one problem down. Now I suppose we should figure out exactly what we've gotten ourselves into."

With that the two of them spent several hours going over the history book together, discussing various topics as they went. It turned out that Spryte was a faster reader than Link was which gave her time to ponder the things they read while she waited for him to catch up. This led to some interesting debates between them as they tried to fully grasp and understand the history and structure of the world they now lived in. They learned much together.

Time drifted by without notice, neither of them stopping until late in the evening. Makarov allowed the two of them to spend a few nights at the Guild Hall while they studied until they felt comfortable enough to take a few jobs and earn some Jewels. He also made it quite clear to the other mages that they were not to disturb Link or Spryte for the time being unless either of them approached them first.

The two of them spent the next two nights going through the history book and Link marvelled at the things he learned about Earthland. He had always loved listening to the stories recounted by the Great Deku Tree as a child and reading this book was similar; the fact that it was about a different world altogether made it even more appealing.

When they finally finished the book, Link leaned back in his chair, balancing it on two legs, and stretched out his arms with a deep sigh of satisfaction. His action caused several of his joints to crack and pop, adding to his relief. He massaged his temples with his forefinger and thumb for a moment before tilting his chair back down to all fours.

"Quite the place, this Earth Land," He commented idly. "Seems like there are evil men of great power everywhere I go."

"Yeah," Spryte agreed. She was now sitting casually on the table, leaning back on her hands with her legs stretched out lazily in front. "Doesn't seem like there's any realy danger right now thoigh. This place seems like it could be fun. There's so much to see, do, and learn!"

Link chuckled lightly and leaned back in his chair. The playful fairy was all about making the best of a situation. Her words, however, brought up a good point that Link couldn't help but think about.

While it was true that Fiore certainly had its share of hardships in the past dark wizards, dragons, and demons roaming the land just to name a few, it was also true that currently the land was in an era of peace. In fact no real wars had been fought in centuries. This news was particularly interesting to the young hero.

He was a destined champion against evil and had fought against cataclysmic events everywhere he went. This was the first time that he had been in a place where he could start completely from scratch without any real worries or concerns. Something in his gut told him that he wouldn't be able to find a way back to Hyrule anytime soon and there was no great evil for him to face.

It was time to start a new life.

"I think you may be right," he grinned. "At least the people we've met so far are interesting."

"That's putting it mildly," Spryte huffed, which made Link chuckle again before reaching out and picking up the tome on magic.

"Well, I suppose we should look at this one next, yeah?"

"Oh, good!" The young fairy fluttered up eagerly. "I've been waiting for this!"

Link smiled again at her enthusiasm and opened the book. It was smaller than the history book but he didn't doubt that it would take even longer to go through due to the nature of the content.

The book was fascinating. Link had never before imagined the full possibilities that magic entailed. Sure he had recognized its power, having fought a man capable of ripping a hole between dimensions, and even knew some magic himself, but he had never given full stock towards what it could do. His world had been a land rich with magic, a different type of magic, yes, but magic nonetheless. It was not uncommon to see from day to day, but the average person had only minor ability with it at best and used it for specific purposes.

Earthland was different.

This world had literally turned the use of magic into a way of life. While it was true that only about ten percent of the populace could use it actively and become wizards, magic was readily used in every home for even the most mundane things. Lacrima could be used to light houses, cook food, and even for entertainment. Other items could be charged with magic power from an outside source and then used by citizens at will for whatever purposes they desired.

Anything that required a much more active use of magic was where the mages came in. People could submit requests to a guild where an interested mage could take the job and deal with the issue directly. In this way the world had achieved an effective balance between wizards and ordinary people, with both sides providing services to each other.

Not only that but the different varieties of magic out there was absolutely staggering and boggled Link's mind. There seemed to be a type of magic for literally everything and with enough time and effort a mage could learn any type they wanted. The possibilities were endless.

Link leaned back in his chair once more. He had never given much stock into learning the magic of his world, not having the time to study it properly, and the spells he had learned, despite being powerful, were acquired in a rather unconventional way. If having the required knowledge magically implanted directly into your mind by Great Fairies could be called unconventional, that is. But the magic of this world intrigued him greatly. It wasn't just about studying and chanting long complicated incantations to invoke ancient powers. No, from what he had seen and read so far, a lot of the magic could be applied directly to active combat and that was right up the Hero of Time's alley. Not to mention the staggering physical benefits gained from being a combat wizard.

He knew that he possessed the capabilities to become one, Porlyusica had told him such and Makarov seemed to agree with her. The question now was what type of magic should he learn? From his past experience, Link didn't believe in limiting himself to one specialty. Part of what made him capable of the things he did was the ability to adapt to a situation and having the equipment necessary to take advantage of an opponent's weaknesses. As such, he didn't want to limit himself to specializing in just one or two like most mages. Requip sounded like a definite starting point. It was similar to the magic belt pouch he used to store most of his gear, but seemed significantly superior.

But what else?

He explained his concerns to Spryte and asked her opinion on the matter.

"Why don't we look around and see what other books we can find?" She suggested. "I'm sure there's a few things we could find that might interest you. If not, you can start with the Requip book for now and we can always ask the others to demonstrate their abilities and see if anything catches your eye."

"All right," Link nodded his head and stood up to begin looking around but he paused when a sudden thought crossed his mind. "Spryte, are you going to try to learn any of this?"

"Of course!" the fairy replied with wide grin. "Magic is part of a fairy's essence and this new magic sounds awesome! I don't know if I'll be able to use any of it, but I'm sure as heck gonna try!"

Link laughed again. "Well in that case, let's also look around for stuff that interests you as well."

The two of them wandered around from shelf to shelf, examining the meticulously lined up books for anything that stood out to them. Spryte actively fluttered in every direction, even going up to the very top shelves now and then, occasionally pulling a book from its place and carrying it over to the table. Link had been surprised that she was able to pick up the books without too much difficulty despite them being larger than her.

Apparently she was a lot stronger than she appeared, though she still struggled with the heavier tomes.

Link couldn't help but laugh when he watched her strain to pull out a particularly large book from a higher shelf. The little fairy plummeted several feet with an adorable squeal of alarm when she finally managed to remove the heavy tome from the shelf. Luckily, Spryte was able to catch herself before she hit the ground. She hovered for a moment, beating her wings rapidly, and then slowly flew in rough bobbing path back to the table. When she finally reached it she dropped the book rather unceremoniously with a loud grunt of effort.

"Be careful," Link chided good naturedly. "I don't want you to hurt yourself."

Spryte responded with a glare and an indignant huff before drifting back to the shelves. Link shook his head with a smile and turned his attention back to the books in front of him. He raised his left hand to finger the spine of one tome when he suddenly noticed the Triforce mark on his hand glowing softly again.

This time the light came from the bottom right triangle, the symbol representing the Triforce of Courage. Link blinked in surprise once more and drew his hand back to inspect it more closely. However, as soon as he did so, the light faded. He stared at it in confusion for a moment before slowly extending his hand back out and watched in fascination as the symbol lit up once more.

He held his hand out, intrigued by the sudden display, and shifted his hand to the left. The glow faded. He moved his hand back to the right and the glow increased. Link ran his hand over the row of books and the glow brightened more and more the farther he went to the right. Finally, he reached the spine of one book and his hand flared up to an almost blinding level before fading away into nothing. Link blinked to clear his eyes of spots before staring at the spine of the book now under his hand. He examined the backing and saw a magic symbol with a sword in the center emblazoned in the middle. Link pulled the book from its place and looked at its cover. He raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Sword Magic?"

That definitely sounded useful. He glanced from the cover to the mark on the back of his hand. First the ability to use magic, then the knowledge to read and speak the language, and now a particular book of magic well suited to him? It seemed that something or someONE wanted him to be able to function in this world and was helping him along the way.

A spark of memory passed through his mind; the recollection of a lost dream.

 _We will be your guides…_

He smiled.

So, the Goddesses were with him still.

This revelation removed any doubts that Link may have still harboured over his predicament. If the Goddesses were showing him the way, then perhaps he was meant to come here after all.

Heartened by that knowledge, Link returned to his table, now adorned with a growing pile of books, and placed the book of Sword Magic next to the book on Requipping. As soon as he did, the symbol representing the Triforce of Power began to glow. Now understanding what it meant, Link smirked and raised his hand towards the shelves to seek out the next book.

He didn't know what magics the Goddesses would lead him towards, but they had made him into the ultimate warrior of his land. If they wanted him to be here now, then he was determined to become such in this world as well.

Thus Link, the Hero of Time, began his first night of study in the art of Earth Land's magic.


	4. Spirit of the Forest

The Legend of Fairy Tail

Chapter 4:

Spirit of the Forest

xxx

Link released a deep yawn and he stretched his arms to the sky, an essential part of his morning routine. His back popped a couple of times as he tried to work out all of his morning kinks. The crisp forest air invigorated his senses and the warm rays of the rising sun felt great on his skin. He released a sharp exhalation of air as he finished his yawn and swung his arms down, ready to begin. Today was going to be a good day.

"Good mo-ahhhhhhhrning, Link," Spryte greeted through her own sleepy haze and fluttered down to his shoulder.

"Morning, Spryte. Sleep well?"

"Mmhmm," The little fairy smiled lightly and finished wiping the last dredges of slumber from her eyes. "So what are you planning on doing today?"

"Training of course," Link grunted in reply, already beginning his morning stretches.

"Again?" Spryte groaned in exasperation. "You haven't done much of anything else since we got here!"

The young Hero of Time simply shrugged and bent over to grab the back of his heels, his forehead pressed tightly to his legs. "I have a lot of catching up to do. I'm not the top dog in this world. Not even close."

"Maybe so, but still…" Her shoulders slumped. "Can't we do something else?"

Link paused in his stretching and moved his gaze upwards towards his friend who was now sitting on his head. He could see her about as well as he could his own forehead but it was an unconscious response to where his attention was centered.

"Spryte…if we're going to succeed here then we have to be able to sustain ourselves. I'm strong by Hyrule's standards, probably one of the best, but the average mage in this world is in another category all together."

"You seem to match up with Erza pretty well and she's one of the strongest people in the guild out of your age group."

Link sighed and continued stretching. "You know that's not true. Erza is a lot stronger than me."

"But you're better." Spryte argued with a huff.

It was true to an extent. When it came to raw skill, Link had far more experience with a sword than Erza did. While definitely no slouch herself, if Erza were a Hylian like Link then the young hero would have been able to beat her quite readily. The problem was that Erza outclassed him physically. She was simply far stronger and faster than he was.

Some could argue that superior skill was worth more than physical prowess, but that was only true when the two people fighting were within the same realm of capability. Being able to block an attack meant little if that same attack sent you flying into a wall from the sheer force of it. And while Link had defeated countless monsters of all shapes and size significantly more powerful than himself, he always had an advantage of some kind to help him. Against giant monsters he was smaller and more agile, able to ruthlessly strike at any weak points they had. Other smaller monsters were less intelligent or less skilled. Any other advantages the monsters had over him were usually negated thanks to magic or aparticular piece of equipment. He rarely fought things in his own weight class with similar skills and abilities.

As such some of his most challenging fights had been not with any monsters, but with the Gerudo people. The dangerous desert women were incredibly disciplined with skills and speed equal to that of the young hero. If not for Link's goddess blessed talent and perseverance they could have easily killed him the first time he fought them. Of course that was a long time ago and he was far better now, but the case was still valid.

Here in Fiore, against Erza, he had no advantages beyond moderately superior skill. Erza could dodge or counter any attack or opening that Link's superior skill gave him through sheer speed and her power shattered though his defense.

He hadn't been studying magic for long but Link had discovered that the reason for a mage's superior physical abilities was due to the Ethernano present in Earthland.

Magic was incredibly versatile in Fiore, far more so than Hyrule, a land rich in magical energy in its own right. There were spells for the most mundane things, like changing the color of your clothes and trying your shoe laces, to magic powerful enough to destroy mountains. It was really incredible, even for someone who had seen as much crazy stuff as Link had.

As a mage learns his chosen spellcraft the Ethernano they absorb as they expend their energy begins to alter their bodies to better accommodate the type of magic they use. That was how strange physical appearances or passive abilities like an ice wizards resistance to cold developed. While the extent of these changes varied greatly from mage to mage, one of the universal benefits was an increase in physical capabilities over regular people, especially in mages that specialized in combat. Natsu was a prime example of this; he was just a kid yet he could pick up boulders bigger than he was. Even mages that didn't focus on direct combat like Cana were faster, stronger, and a lot tougher than normal people. Of course most of these physical benefits were also directly tied to the magical energy running through their system. If they were low on magical power then they usually experienced a sharp drop in their physical capabilities.

Being a potential S-class mage who specialized in adaptive melee combat, Erza's physical parameters were through the roof. Compared to that, Link just couldn't match up; at least not yet.

Porlyusica had told him that he had developed a magic container while he had been unconscious and he could already feel the effects of having Ethernano flowing through him. Every time he woke up he felt improved from the night before.

Faster.

Stronger.

Better.

Just the barest of changes, but definite changes nonetheless.

He was weaker than most of the mages of Fairy Tail now, but that would soon change.

"I maybe better," Link shrugged. "But she's stronger. They all are. You know that."

He gave her a pointed look and carried on with his morning calisthenics. The young fairy gave another rather petulant huff of disapproval before slumping forward.

"But I'm boooooored…" She whined. "Can't we do something more exciting today?"

"Like what?"

Spryte blinked, surprised at the genuine curiosity in his voice. She had half expected him to say 'No' outright and continue training for most of the day. This sudden opportunity caught her off guard and she was momentarily lost for words. She covered it up quickly, however, and adopted a thinking pose. While it was true that she was bored and wanted to have some fun, she also knew that Link was right and that he needed to grow stronger. They'd be able to go on the really exciting jobs if he did.

Link was a rather selfless person at heart so she knew that if she really asked him to do something else then we would without much fuss. On the other hand, as his newly self-designated Fairy partner, it was her responsibility to look after his best interests and taking him away from his training at the moment was not in them. So what could they do that was both fun and could still count as training?

She smiled suddenly and flitted in front of his face, a full grin on display, before poking him in the nose.

"Tag! You're it!"

Link blinked nonplussed several times as he watched the little fairy dart off into the trees at high speed. Soon though a grin of his own lit up his face and raced after her.

Spryte laughed merrily as she zipped through and wove around any forest obstacle she came across: flying between trees, around rocks, under logs, through bushes, and over streams. She spared a glance over her shoulder to see Link right behind her, navigating the woods as only a Kokiri could, with a little added flair to the action. In order to maximize his workout and to have a little fun on the side, Link had added some rather impressive acrobatics to his movements. He would side flip over or slide under, swing and flip from tree branches, twist and bounce down slopes, and wall jump up rocky inclines.

Yes, she decided. This definitely counted as training and it was a LOT of fun.

The young hero had begun to close the distance on her when the fairy turned and blew him a raspberry before upping her speed and pulling up and into the trees. Link grinned savagely and leapt high, grabbing branch and swinging up on top of it before vaulting to the next bough. He sprung from tree to tree as Spryte zigzagged through the canopy at breakneck speeds. His flying friend laughed again and dove straight down back to the ground. Link was close behind her, breaking his fall with a forward roll and using his momentum to launch forward with a hand outstretched to touch her. He came within inches but fell just short and she pulled away again. Link was undeterred and raced after her.

They continued this way for almost an hour, neither of them willing to admit defeat and give up. Spryte, however, was growing tired and knew she couldn't beat Link in terms of stamina. Even before he came to this new world Link could go three days without sleep and still function at full capacity. He had done so repeatedly for a long time during his adventure in Termina, proof that even in his childlike body he was a hardened warrior. Sooner or later he was going to catch her.

Spryte pushed that thought out of her mind and increased her speed with a renewed sense of determination. If catching her was inevitable then she was going to make darn sure that it took him as long as possible. She looked behind her again to see Link less than fifteen yards behind her. She gave a tight grin and burst forward, increasing the distance between them. Link's sudden cry of alarm caused her to burst into giggles as she darted through the bushes and into an open clearing. She was so focused on what was going on behind her that she didn't pay attention to what was ahead of her.

*WHAM*

Spryte grunted in surprise and sudden pain when her momentum was abruptly halted by a wall of muscle.

"Erya?" A guttural sound filled her ears and she felt the wall shift around. "What's this?"

The voice was deep and throaty with a very primitive accent. Spryte shook the stars from her vision just in time to feel something pinch her wings together and pull her up.

"Whoa!" she shouted in alarm from the sudden motion. When her movement stopped she could only blink in surprise at the eyes that stared at her curiously. Large eyes belonging to a very large, green furred, ape-like creature. The two equally surprised individuals stared at each other for several seconds before the ape monster, a Vulcan, if Spryte's memory of what Porlyusica told them lived in the forest was correct, reacted in a rather unsettling manner.

"AWOOOOOOO!" The Vulcan shouted wildy, steam billowing from its nostrils. Spryte could have also sworn she saw hearts in its eyes. "IT'S A TINY WOMAN!"

"Eh!" Spryte flinched away from the Vulcan's creepy expression.

"WOMAN! WOMAAN! WOMAAAN!"

It was then that the little fairy took note of her surroundings and was dismayed to see several more of the ape monsters clustered around her, all chanting wildly in revelry of their sudden discovery.

"SHE'S PRETTY! PRETTY, TINY WOMAN!"

"WOMAN! WOMAN! WOMAN!"

"LET GO OF ME YOU PERVERTED MONKEYS!" Sprtye shouted defiantly at her captors but her words fell on deaf ears. The Vulcans were far too excited to give heed to anything she had to say.

"Ah!" The largest Vulcan, the one currently holding the little fairy, exclaimed happily. "Now we have two women!"

"Huh?" Spryte blinked. "Two? What do you mean two?"

Unfortunately her question went unanswered as the Vulcan holding her turned towards some nearby bushes. At first she was curious about what the ape creature was doing until a quick scan of the foliage made its intentions abundantly clear.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" Spryte wailed as the Vulcan thrust her into the middle of a spider web.

"Heehee," The Vulcan grinned widely. "This will keep you from flying away!"

And indeed it did. The surprisingly intelligent plan soon left Spryte completely tangled up in the sticky silk.

"Not again…" the little fairy moaned. She supposed she should be grateful that the Vulcan had squished the former inhabitant of the web prior to throwing her in it, but she found that was a small comfort. It also didn't matter that the threads weren't nearly as strong as a Skulltula's silk, she was still quite effectively stuck.

Sadly, her plight wasn't quite complete yet. As soon as it was satisfied with her entanglement the Vulcan snapped the branches holding the web up and clutched them together in a makeshift bundle to carry away. The sudden collapse of the web and removal from the bushes caused the all of the threads to fall about Spryte in waves and then constrict tightly as she dangled and spun from the end of the lines. The spinning motion caused the threads to twist together into a single strong cord and wrap around the poor fairy in a cocoon just as tight and effective as if the spider had done it itself. The entire affect serving to completely immobilize her and making Spryte feel somewhat like a bug on a leash as she dangled from about a foot of line from the bundle of sticks in the Vulcan's hand.

"Now we take you back to cave!" The large Vulcan exclaimed proudly as he swung her about and turned back to his fellow Vulcans.

Spryte tried not to be sick from the motion and did her best to level a fierce glare at the monster.

"I'm warning you! You better let me go right now or you'll be sorry!"

"Heheh! What you gonna do? Scream?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," Sprye stated smugly.

"Heehee! Yes! Scream good! Heheheheh! Go ahead! You scream now!"

"All right, you asked for it." Spryte inhaled deeply, puffing up her chest as much as she could in the tight cocoon in preparation for…

" **KYAAAAAAAAH!"**

The response was almost instantaneous. One moment the Vulan holding her was grinning madly at her cry, the next he was sent flying when something hard and strong smashed into the side of his face. Landing lightly in the spot where the Vulcan had just been was Link, his fist still outstretched. He calmly straightened as the Vulcan hit the dirt a few feet away and reached out to catch the suddenly airborne Spryte.

"Well, this looks familiar," He grinned at her. "Have we met like this before?"

"Ha ha very funny," Spryte grumbled sarcastically. "What took you so long?" She glared at him after she had stopped swaying from the sudden transferal of hands. Link merely chuckled at her and raised the stick she was attached to so that she was at eye level.

"Someone decided to take off through some ridiculously annoying terrain ahead of me. Serves you right."

"It's not MY fault you couldn't keep up!"

"Says the one with wings."

"You're the big bad hero, you shoulda been able to catch me."

"Well," Link gestured to her current predicament. "Apparently someone else did that for me."

"This doesn't count!" Spryte yelled. "They surprised me!"

"Sure, sure," Link chuckled. "If you say so."

"Will you just get me out of this?"

Link chuckled again and quickly tore the webbing off her. Now Spryte WAS glad that the web wasn't as strong or sticky as Skulltula silk. Link could tear it apart without injuring her (or drenching her in water again) safely. As soon as she was free Spryte took to the air and hovered behind Link's head, using him as a shield between her and the Vulcans who were quickly regrouping. The big one that Link had slugged rose angrily to his feet.

"Hey! That's our woman! Give her back!"

Link waved a lazy hand through the air. "Trust me guys, you don't want her. She's more trouble than she's worth."

"Hey! I resent that!"

"Grrrrr we gonna crush you!" The Vulcans roared and charged as one.

Link watched them come through narrowed eyes, analysing his opponents with critical attention. They were bigger than we was. Stronger than he was. And dumber than he was.

In short…they were monsters.

And they were right up his alley.

He smirked to himself and held his hand out in front of him, channeling a bit of magic and summoning a sword from his Requip space. Without a word, he lunged towards them.

 _ **Two minutes and three dead Vulcans later….**_

"You know, I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up in this world," Link stated as cracked his neck. "But that was way easier than I expected it to be."

"I never doubted you for a second," Spryte beamed.

"Well, thanks," The young hero couldn't help but crack a shy smile. "That means a lot to hear you say that. Navi would have said the same thing, I think."

"Anytime," Spryte giggled and fluttered down to place a quick peck on the end of his nose. "Thanks for saving me again."

"Of course," Link grinned and turned to leave. "Shall we head back then?"

"Umm…wait, Link?"

"Yes?"

"Before you punched him that Vulcan said something about having another woman."

"Really?" Link raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah…and judging by the way he was acting towards me…I think it was telling the truth."

"I see…"

Without another word, Link crouched down and began to sweep his gaze along the ground. After a moment he stood and walked a little ways away before bending down again and running his fingers along the grass.

"What are you doing?" Spryte fluttered over curiously.

"Looking for their trail. These Vulcan's came from somewhere, so we're going to track them back to their den."

"Do you think you can do it?"

Link smirked and stood up straight. "I've already started. Let's go."

The two companions moved through the woods at a steady pace following the trail left behind by the Vulcans. Despite their large size and intelligence, they were still creatures of the forest and they moved through it well. Their tracks were far less distinct and intrusive than any regular human strolling through the forest would be. Nevertheless, Link was able to follow them readily.

It took them quite a while to find the Vulcan den. The trail didn't lead directly back to it and the duo had to backtrack through the entirety of the Vulan's recent activities. They found a nice area with a small stream and a pond that they must have used to drink or bathe in, another place with several berry bushes, a clearing full of surprisingly large strawberries (Spryte was particularly excited by this find), and other random spots that the Vulcan's had been to. After several hours of trekking, they finally located the Vulcan's den at a cave in the base of a rocky cliff and quickly discovered quite a few more of the large monsters in the vicinity.

"Well now," Link mused from his spot crouched in a tree overlooking the area. "I think it's safe to say we've found their den."

"Mhmmm," Spryte agreed quietly. "So what are you going to do?"

"First we have to find out if they really have someone in there."

"And how do you plan on doing that? I hope you don't expect me to fly down there and check, those monkeys give me the creeps," Spryte shuddered.

Link chuckled lightly. "No, I don't. I'll admit the thought occurred to me, but I have something else in mind."

"Like what? Walk right up to them and ask?"

"Something like that."

Xxx

"Ok, I'll admit it. This is pretty cool!" Spryte whispered excitedly from underneath Link's hat.

Link couldn't help but grin in agreement, though nobody could see it from behind the mask he wore. He didn't respond verbally however as that would have alerted the Vulcan's around them while they walked straight towards the cave. The mask Link wore was one of twenty four special masks that he had acquired in Termina. Like its name suggested, the Stone Mask was dull gray and rocky in appearance; not a particularly attractive item, but it had the unique ability to completely suppress the wearer's presence. It didn't turn them invisible per se, but made it so that anybody that looked at them would be unable to distinguish the wearer as anything other than a natural part of the background.

A person could stare directly at them from two feet away and would be unable to notice them unless they had a powerful device capable of negating the mask's own magic or had such concentrated focus and perception of their surroundings that they could recognize something odd happening around them. But that was very, very, unlikely to happen. Even Link, himself, needed to use the Lens of Truth, an enchanted device of Sheikah origin specifically created to see through all deceit, in order to see the man who had worn it in Termina before giving it to him. So it was with no small amount of satisfaction that Link and Spryte found themselves walking right through the crowd of Vulcans without so much as a second glance their way. They entered the cave without incident and quickly began searching for the captive woman.

The cave was unsurprisingly large, needing to fit a large number of the big ape creatures inside, and they could see much evidence of the Vulcans' prolonged tenancy. It was also poorly illuminated and Link could barely see into its depths even with his sharp eyes. However, that was enough for him to make out the distinct outline of a person lying at the very back of the cave. Link's eyes narrowed when he confirmed that the person was indeed female in shape and he also thought he saw something tied around her ankle.

That was all Link needed to see.

Without hesitation he turned and strode directly out into the middle of the clearing and removed the mask. To say that the Vulcans were surprised at the sudden appearance of a young boy in their midst was an understatement.

"Hey! Where did you come from?!" One of them demanded and jumped in front of him.

Link didn't answer. Instead, he looked directly into the Vulcan's eyes and glared.

"Release the girl."

The Vulcan blinked in surprise, then laughed. "Hahaha! Why should we do that? She's our woman! We like woman!"

"Let her go or I'll make you. Last chance."

"Hah! Whatcha gonna do? We kill-"

It didn't get to finish. A quick flash of light and the Vulcan fell backward, dead, from a massive slash up its chest. Link stood with a dark look, his sword still raised upwards.

"Wrong choice." He breathed.

A moment of stunned silence filled the area before every one of the Vulcans around him charged forward as one. Link didn't move, except to raise his free hand to chest height. A bright ball of red light erupted into life over his palm. He watched the Vulcans approach as one from all directions impassively and calmly closed his fist around the ball, beams of red light piercing between his fingers. At the last possible second, Link slammed his fist into the ground with a loud cry.

" **DIN'S FIRE**!"

A dome of powerful magical flame erupted around him and burst outward in a rapidly expanding circle, engulfing every Vulcan around in its violent fury. When the flames died down not a single Vulcan was left standing, every one of them having been charred to a crisp. Some were still alive, though they wouldn't be for long thanks to the fatal burns they received.

Link surveyed the scene around him and sighed in dismay. "I really need to work on that…"

"Work on what?" Spryte asked.

"This," Link gestured to the destruction around him. "The other guild members would have beaten these Vulcan's without killing them."

"Is that so bad? I thought monster slaying was a pretty regular thing."

"It is," Link nodded. "But the mages of this world rarely use their magic with the intent to kill. That's something I need to work on."

"Ah right," Spryte frowned sympathetically. "I bet that's really tough for you."

"A bit," Link grunted half-heartedly. Throughout his life, Link had fought and killed countless monsters of all shapes and sizes. It was never in question whether or not he would end up slaying them or not and he rarely gave the action a second thought once he had. It was always either him or them; not that hard of a decision. Anything that was a threat to him or his land he killed without hesitation, including people. That wasn't to say he was a cold blooded killer, though, far from it.

Link was a guardian. A protector and chosen Hero of the Goddesses. He would much rather solve problems without having to fight and he only killed if he felt his opponents really deserved it. If he fought, won, and they surrendered peacefully, Link was more than willing to end any conflict then and there. Unfortunately in his experience that was rarely the case.

The idea of fighting an opponent that truly meant you harm without lethal intent was an entirely foreign concept for him. But that was the standard by which the magic council held all of the registered guilds by and Fairy Tail was particularly staunch in keeping this ideal. While monster slaying jobs occurred regularly, whether or not they were actually killed was usually a decision based on the intelligence or threat level of the particular beast. The fights with human opponents, even bandits and other criminals, was far less likely to end in death.

It was a rather fascinating experience for Link to learn that the magic people used in this world acted as much based on the mage's intent as it did based on its very nature. Natsu's fire for example could easily melt metal and destroy boulders, yet he could also blast somebody through a wall without them sustaining fatal or even permanent injury simply because his desire was entirely focused on defeating his opponents, not killing them. The same thing applied to Erza's swords and other weapons used by mages. She could slash an enemy full force directly across the chest, an attack that would be easily lethal in any other circumstance, but they wouldn't die from it because it was not her intent to do so.

Now that he was well on his way in developing his own new magical abilities, Link found that this same principle applied to him as well. Unfortunately it was a lot more difficult for him to maintain that mindset in a fight. Old habits and instincts honed from countless life or death battles were extremely hard to suppress and Link often ended up using lethal force despite himself.

This instance being the most recent example.

Luckily he hadn't ended up killing any people yet. The few humans he had ended up fighting were often dealt with without major difficulty, instances that Link could have easily avoided killing even before he ended up in Magnolia.

"Well, it's too late to worry about it now," Spryte chirped up. "Come on, let's go help the girl."

"Right."

They quickly turned and made their way back towards the cave. Now that the way was clear, the Spryte was able to increase her ambient glow to illuminate the area around them. Link took a quick glance around just to be sure that there were no more Vulcans present before they headed towards the woman at the back of the cave.

"Are you all right, miss?" Link called when they got close, not wanting to scare her more.

The woman didn't respond verbally but they saw the figure shift slightly at his voice.

"Don't be afraid," Link said, putting on his most reassuring smile. "We've come to res…cue…you…"

His words trailed off as Spryte's light finally revealed the person the Vulcans had held captive.

He blinked.

Then blinked again.

"Uh…Link?" Spryte ventured cautiously. "I don't think…"

"Yeah…" Link agreed, just as lost for words.

The figure was indeed a female, rather young in appearance perhaps late teens, and would be considered exceptionally beautiful by many. She was rather willowy in frame, though not exceptionally tall, with long hair that fell almost to her thighs.

There was just one rather interesting feature that made her a bit different than normal women.

She was green.

Her skin was tinged a pale shade of light forest green off put by several large patches of dull brown. Her hair was also forest green, though a darker shade, with brow vines and wilted flowers all woven through. The only part of her that wasn't green was her soft pink lips several shades paler than a regular human and her golden eyes.

Her dress consisted mostly of leafy vines that twisted around her body in an elegant manner. Or at least they did once. Like her hair, the vines around her body were all wilted and dry exposing much of her skin though they still managed to conceal her modesty.

Her strange appearance made one fact rather clear: she wasn't human.

"Well this is a surprise," Link stated simply as he knelt down to get a better look at her. The strange girl's eyes widened at the motion and she scrambled backwards with a sudden burst of motion.

"Whoa!" Link yelped in alarm and raised his hands in supplication. The gesture did little to stop her movement but the now taught rope tied around her ankle did. Link frowned at the cord restricting her movements, anchoring her to a large rock she had no hope of moving on her own. It wasn't very long and she had quickly pulled it tight from her scramble away from him, giving her just enough length to press herself against the cave wall. He could see that the knot around her ankle had been worked on but she had lacked the strength to undue it despite her obviously nimble fingers.

She must have been there for quite a while, he could see the chaffing on her ankle and even a blind man couldn't fail to notice how weak she looked. Link didn't doubt that the sudden burst of fear induced energy had cost her greatly.

"It's ok…" He murmured gently. "I'm not here to hurt you…I want to help."

The fearful expression on the girl's face didn't change.

"I don't think she can understand you…" Spryte said and fluttered down. "Let me try."

She gently glided towards the green girl whose focus immediately shifted from Link to her. Her expression morphed immediately from fear to something more surprised and perhaps a bit…curious? Link watched silently and unmoving as Spryte hovered inches from the green girl's face. The two stared at each other for several long moments before the little fairy drifted over and touched the green girl's forehead. Almost as soon as contact was made, both of them bowed their heads slightly and closed their eyes. Link remained motionless, watching with rapt attention. A few minutes later, Spryte broke the contact and fluttered backwards towards him without taking her eyes off the girl who watched her go warily.

"Well?" Link prompted gently when his partner was beside him.

"She's a forest spirit."

"A forest spirit?" Link tilted his head slightly. "Like a Kokiri?"

"In a way…but vastly different as well. Think of her more like...a combination of a Great Fairy and the Deku Tree but not as powerful."

"Ah, ok," Link nodded. "Anything else."

"Yeah, she doesn't understand you for one thing, like I thought," Spryte sighed. "She communicates with a series of mental pictures and emotions that blend together in place of words. It's rather interesting."

She took a moment to let that sink in before continuing.

"From what I can tell, the Vulcan's aren't actually native to this forest. Granted they've been here long enough that they've settled into the natural environment but they were originally from somewhere else. Before they came, this forest used to be full of other spirits like her. They're shy and kept themselves hidden from humans with their abilities and intrinsic connection to the forest, but the Vulcan's changed that. They could apparently smell the spirits whenever they were out of their hiding places and quickly began to track them down and catch them. Eventually the spirits hid themselves away almost completely and managed to avoid the Vulcan's for many years. She," Spryte gestured to the captive spirit. "Got tired of hiding recently and came out to see the sun for a bit. That's when the Vulcan's got her and she's been here ever since."

Spryte turned to her friend with pleading eyes. "Link we have to help her…She's directly tied to the Earth and the forest. In this rocky cave she's cut off from both. It's killing her…"

Link nodded having surmised as much from her appearance after Spryte had said she was a forest spirit.

"Can you heal her at all?"

The little fairy shook her head in dismay. "She's too much like me…If I was a Great Fairy then I could probably do something but right now I don't have that kind of power…"

"I see," Link murmured. "Then what should we do? I don't think she'll let me near her, she still looks too afraid."

"She is…" Spryte sighed "and I wasn't able to convince her otherwise. You appear human to her," she shrugged helplessly. "And she's naturally afraid of people, even before all this happened to her. You'll have to figure out a way to prove you're not a threat."

"Hmmm…" Link rubbed his chin for a moment in thought. After a minute he noticed that the forest girl's golden eyes were staring directly into his own. He could tell that they had lost much of their life but they were still piercing, watching his every move.

Link was faced with a bit of a dilemma. If she were human then the fastest way to deal with this would be to cut her free and deal with whatever came next, but he couldn't do that here. Spirits were different than regular people. They existed on a different level than humans and while this may give them some powers and abilities beyond regular mortals in some ways, it also made them incredibly delicate in others.

The forest spirit was weak. Very weak. And terribly frightened. Suddenly moving towards her with a weapon, even if it was with the intent to help, might send her into a panic that could very well kill her and the rope holding her wasn't so long that he could just cut the far end without being close enough to frighten her. The lack of communication didn't help matters either.

What to do then…

Suddenly an idea struck him and Link almost kicked himself for not thinking of this earlier. He broke eye contact with the spirit and sat cross legged on the ground with a relaxed sigh and leaned against the rock she was anchored to. Link made his body as relaxed and disarming as possible, modulating his breathing accordingly. He avoided looking at the captive spirit and concentrated on his breathing for several moments. After a while he slowly raised his hands and summoned his ocarina. He could tell without looking that the display of magic had both startled and intrigued the spirit but he paid it no mind.

Taking a deep breath, Link brought the instrument to his lips and began to play. He started slow and soft, playing a modified version of the song Impa had taught him long ago that connected him to the royal family and had been used as the princess's lullaby as a child. Having played an enormous role in all of his adventures, Link was particularly aware of how powerful music could be. It could move mountains, change lives, and even transcend the boundaries of time. Zelda had often referred to music as the language of the God's and Link readily agreed. He was hoping that it would help him once again here.

He continued to play after he had finished his first song, smoothly transitioning into the Song of Time, and then into the song Malon had taught him. He maintained his slow tempo and soft pitch, focusing on calming the spirit with the gentle tones. After a while he cracked his eyes open to look at her and inwardly smiled at that he saw. The forest spirit's eyes were half closed and she seemed to be shifting ever so slightly in time to the music.

"It's working," Spryte whispered excitedly in his ear. Link gave the barest of nods and made a slight gesture with his eyes. Spryte smiled at him and after a moment to sync herself with the rhythm she began to sing along. One of the things Link had quickly learned about his new fairy partner was that she had a beautiful singing voice, which she employed now to full affect. The pair wove a beautiful melody of music that filled the cave. The addition of Spryte's voice seemed to pull the forest spirit deeper into a sense of calm and Link quickly took advantage of it. He trailed off with his ocarina, allowing Spryte to take over for a solo part, and slowly rose to his feet.

He moved deliberately and silently towards the spirit, discreetly bringing forth a small dagger as he did, being careful not to startle her. Her eyes were almost fully closed now and she seemed oblivious to his approach. It didn't take him long to reach her and quickly cut the loop around her ankle with a speed and gentleness that could only be achieved by one whose blade was an extension of their body.

The instant the bond was severed the spirit's eyes snapped open and she stared wide-eyed at the young human crouched inches away from her. While Link had made the knife vanish immediately after his cut that fact didn't seem to help her reaction. Without warning the spirit bolted away with surprising speed, making a mad dash for the cave entrance.

"Whoa!" Link grunted in surprise, having not expected the sudden burst of energy from the enfeebled spirit. He had been certain that she didn't have the reserves for that kind of action.

Unfortunately, he was right.

The spirit only made it a short distance before she slowed dramatically, stumbled, and then collapsed onto the cave floor. Spryte gasped in alarm and immediately flew to her side followed quickly by Link.

"This isn't good!" Spryte panicked as she touched the spirit's forehead again. "She's lost most of what little energy she had left; I don't think she can move on her own anymore!"

Link immediately knelt beside the spirit, staring directly into her frightened eyes once again.

"Please…" He whispered gently. "I only want to help you…"

The spirit stared at him unblinkingly for what seemed an eternity. Link met her gaze with equal measure, trying to convey his intent through his eyes. They stayed that way for an endless moment until finally the spirit moved. Ever so slowly, she raised a shaky hand towards his face and touched his cheek with the very tips of her fingers.

Immediately Link's mind was flooded with a barrage of images and emotions that were not his own. In one breath he felt all of her fear, pain, weakness, and despair; emotions so profound and vivid that they almost made him cry. Along with the emotions came a series of images that culminated in the appearance of a large tree somewhere in the forest. The tree was so clear and detailed in his mind that he felt like he knew everything about it right down to the number of leaves on its branches. It was truly a surreal experience.

The vision suddenly ended and Link was snapped back into reality when the spirit's hand fell limply from his face. He blinked several times to try and orientate himself before he released a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"Link?" An uncertain voice to his left caught his attention. He turned to see Spryte hovering nearby with a concerned expression.

"I'm all right," He breathed. "More importantly, I know what to do."

He quickly leaned forward and scooped the forest spirit up into his arms. She was incredibly light for her size, far lighter than he had expected her to be even with willowy stature. She was taller than he was since his body was that of a preteen, but he carried her easily.

"We have to go to her tree."

"Do you know where that is?" Spryte asked.

"She showed me," Link nodded and without another word dashed out of the cave and into the forest. They moved quickly, driven by a purpose far more desperate than a game of tag. Link stretched his abilities to the absolute limit and cut through the forest like wraith. There was no fancy manoeuvring or acrobatics now, only whatever action he needed to do to reach his destination with the fastest possible speed. Sprite was actually a bit hard-pressed to keep up with him and she was neither running nor carrying anything. It seemed that Link's true abilities always seemed to manifest when he was trying to protect something.

Even so, despite his haste, Link could tell that he would be very lucky to make it in time. He could literally feel the forest spirit dying in his arms and he could do nothing about it. He grit his teeth and pushed himself even harder, doing his best to cradle the forest girl as gently as possible against the motion.

"This isn't going to work!" He panted angrily. "We're not going to make it there in time!"

He leapt nimbly over a fallen log before glancing at Spryte out of the corner of his eye.

"Is there nothing we can do to buy a little more time?"

Spryte bit her lip in response. "Maybe…"

"What is it?"

"She's a spirit vitally connected to this forest and its trees…If…if that's the case then she should be able to draw some strength from it."

Link grunted in response as he weaved through small group of saplings. "How?"

"She'd probably have to be in contact with the ground or a tree…I..I don't think it would heal her completely…but it could give her the boost she needs to reach her tree."

The young Hylian grunted again and slowed his pace enough to look around. After a moment he found a large tree with thick roots stretching out from its base. He quickly ran towards it and found a nice spot where the sun shone warmly all over. He gently laid the spirit on the ground and leaned her against the great tree. On an impulse he withdrew a water canteen and tipped some water into her mouth. She responded slowly, but he was relieved to see her drink as much of the liquid as she could. When he took the canteen away she looked at him through tired eyes, confusion apparent on her features.

Unsure of whether or not it would work, Link stretched out his hand and gently touched her cheek in much the same manner as she had him. From Spryte's earlier description of her way of communicating Link doubted he would have been able to do what he did if he hadn't experienced it first; but after he had felt what it was like himself, he had an idea of how it worked. While he knew that he wouldn't be able to have a real conversation with her this way, at least not without some serious practice, he simplified his thoughts and emotions into a few plain concepts and projected them with as much concentration as he could to her.

 _Rest. Heal._

From the widening of her eyes, Link could tell he had succeeding in saying something to her…he just hoped she got what he meant. He was only slightly surprised when she suddenly grabbed his hand and sent a powerful response that almost knocked him back on his heels. He managed to maintain himself and was surprised to notice that she had formed her reply to him the same way he had tried to send his thoughts to her, albeit far more clear.

 _Terror. Panic. Exposed. Monsters. Find her. Capture. Must reach home._

She was afraid to be captured again, that was easy enough to understand. By stopping they risked the chance more Vulcan's would pick up on her scent and come for her. A fate she refused to go back to even though she was dying.

Link wrapped his fingers around her hand reassuringly.

 _Rest. Heal. Safe. Protect._

At his response, the spirit did something he hadn't seen her do at all since they had met: she blinked.

The surprise was evident on her face and neither one of them moved or ' _said'_ anything for several moments. Finally Link felt a very hesitant query enter his mind.

 _Pro…tect?_

He smiled at her and squeezed her hand gently.

 _ **Protect**_ _._

Once again she stared at him. Her beautiful, piercing, gold eyes momentarily gaining a spark they hadn't possessed before as she regarded him. Finally, after what felt an eternity, she nodded once and closed her eyes, her hand falling limply from his. If it wasn't for her very shallow breathing, Link would have thought her dead.

He watched her silently for several long seconds. He wasn't sure what to expect now. He idly wondered if she had fallen asleep or if she was soaking up sunlight like a plant. Just as he was about to stand back up and give her some space, he caught the barest twitch from her body. Then slowly, like a flower unfurling its petals to the sun, countless hair like tendrils stretched out from her skin. Most sank into the ground like tiny roots but the ones that came out of where her body leaned against the tree buried into its bark just as readily.

Link stared with mild fascination at the sight. He hadn't expected her to lay down roots like a plant, though it sort of made sense now that he thought about it. He watched carefully for several minutes after she had finished 'planting' herself for lack of a better term for any sign that she was all right. He was a bit alarmed at first that he didn't notice her breathing at all but he soon calmed when he noticed her skin color improve slightly. With a sigh of relief, he settled down against one of the large tree roots to wait.

"Think she'll be ok?" He asked Spryte who drifted down to sit on his shoulder.

"Hard to say," the fairy shrugged in response. "But I think she's out of immediate danger…"

"That's good," Link nodded then leaned his head back to stare at the leaves above. "Do you think any Vulcan's will come?"

"It seems likely. From what I gathered earlier, the Vulcans were very persistent in their hunt for the forest spirits. They were able to sniff them out no matter where they hid. If she's in the open now, I doubt it'll be long before one of them shows up."

"I wonder what they smell off them," Link pondered "I don't smell anything weird about her."

"Who knows? Whatever it is, the Vulcans can find them pretty easily."

"You know," Link frowned. "I think I might have to do something about that."

"Heehee," his partner giggled. "I thought you'd say that. What did you have in mind?"

"Hmmm…Well I think that…" He blinked, breathed in deep, and stood up. "We'll have to talk about it later, we have company."

He hopped up onto the root he had been leaning against and narrowed his eyes at the trees. He watched as a Vulcan stepped into view, its nostrils flaring.

"Mmmm smell something good!"

Link let out a huff of disdain. "Well, that didn't take long."

The Vulcan lumbered forward with surprising grace and quickly spotted the resting spirit.

"OOOH! A pretty green woman!"

It moved forward, eyes focused solely on the spirit, before Link called out to it.

"Oi, stop right there."

"Hm?" The Vulcan stopped and looked at him. "Who are you?"

"This girl is under my protection," Link indicated the green woman. "Leave."

"What if I don't wanna?" The Vulcan grinned widely.

Link glared and Requipped a bow and arrow. "Then you won't be leaving at all."

"Try and stop me little boy!" The Vulcan leapt forward, arms raised for a double fisted hammer blow. An arrow sank between its eyes midflight, dropping it short of its mark.

"That's one," Link stated calmly, dismissing the bow. "I wonder if any more that show up will think twice after seeing his body."

"Maybe," Spryte chirped whimsically. "Want to bet on it?"

"Not really," Link plopped himself down on the root. "I got a feeling we'll be seeing more of them soon."

He wasn't wrong.

Within the span of a few hours several more Forest Vulcan's attempted to take the spirit. The first few refused to leave and died alongside the initial one but after several bodies bore testimony to Link's threat many of them headed his words and left. It wasn't long before Link was able to sit in relative comfort and send them away just by speaking. The Vulcans weren't inherently evil creatures, though they were regarded as selfish monsters by most of Earthland, so Link felt no need to slaughter them without cause. He was fine with letting them leave in peace if they chose to do so.

A couple of hours later, Link turned his head to when a light rustling caught his attention. He stood up as he watched the 'roots' from the spirit slowly retract into her skin. It was an interesting thing to see, Link would never have suspected she could do that without seeing it, her skin became perfectly smooth afterwards. He crouched down just as she woke and their eyes met once again.

She blinked languidly, though Link could tell it wasn't from sleepiness, her golden eyes alight with renewed strength. Link smiled at her and gently offered her his hand. She stared at it for a long second before hesitantly taking it, allowing him to pull her to her feet. She stumbled slightly, forcing her to lean on him a bit, but she was able to stand.

Link was glad to see that she looked much healthier than before, though that wasn't saying a whole lot. There were still large patches of brown coloring marring her skin, albeit less than before, and her appearance was still bedraggled and wilted, but she had at least recovered enough strength to stand on her own. She was no longer in any immediate danger and that was an incredible relief to the young hero.

He smiled at her again, still providing silent support, and helped her take a few steps. They didn't go far before the spirit saw the bodies of the dead Vulcan's and she immediately stopped. Due to their contact Link caught a brief flash of emotions from the spirit: surprise, fear, wonder, relief, and…sorrow?

Yes…that last one was definitely sadness. He supposed that made sense; being a spirit of the forest she must have a high regard for life and seeing the deceased Vulcan's would probably hurt something inside even if they were her enemies.

The spirit slowly turned from the sight and looked at him again. Another flash of images and emotions assaulted his mind. He blinked and shook his head in surprise, trying to make sense of what he saw. It was like that first vision he had of her tree, far more colourful and complex than the few words they had exchanged before she had slept. Compared to this latest message, his earlier attempts at communication could be compared to trying to talk to someone one word at a time without conjunctions. He was understandably a little overwhelmed. After a moment the sensation stopped and was replaced by something he could interpret.

 _You? Death?_

Link let out a slow breath and nodded, sending his own reply back.

 _Safe. Protect._

Silence fell between them for a moment while the spirit regarded him.

 _Regret?_

Link shook his head, hesitated, then tried to show her what had happened. This time it was the spirit that blinked and shook her head in confusion. Link let out a sigh of frustration at his inability to communicate effectively with her before Spryte suddenly flew between them.

"Here, let me."

She reached out and touched the spirit's forehead again. Link sighed with relief, once again thankful that he had a fairy partner to help him out when he needed it. He waited patiently for the two of them to finish talking, a process which took a surprisingly short amount of time, until Spryte broke away.

After Spryte fluttered back, the spirit looked at Link with a curious expression. She tilted her head slightly to the side as she did, giving the impression that she was thinking very deeply concerning him. After a minute Link felt her reach out to him again.

 _Take me home?_

Link happily nodded and tried to escort her away. They only made it a few steps before she stumbled again and Link had to brace against her fall. He looked at the spirit's downcast expression before he silently swept her back up into his arms. She let out a gasp of surprise and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck. Link couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction before he dashed off in the direction he knew her tree was at.

He moved briskly, his pace fast but far more sedate than their initial mad dash away from the cave. Due to his endurance and her lack of substantial weight they were able to travel at a steady rate, making good time through the woods. Link was still careful not to jar the forest girl in his arms and it wasn't long before she had fallen asleep. The Hylian smiled at that, reminded of the times he had carried his childhood friend, Saria, through the woods in similar manner when they had stayed out too late. How interesting it was that he hadn't been in this world for more than a month and he was already getting involved with mythical forest beings. He grinned ruefully at the thought and continued running. After about an hour, Link slowed as he came upon a sight that was both relieving and saddening at the same time.

They had found the tree that the spirit called her home. But something was wrong.

In Link's mind it had been healthy and strong, a large and beautiful specimen of the forest. But now, like the spirit in his arms, the tree was withered and greying; a shell of its former self. The few leaves left on its branches were brown and shrivelled and its bark was peeled away in many places. It was truly a sad sight.

Shaking his head, Link gently shook the spirit awake. She blinked lethargically before she caught sight of her home. Link's heart nearly broke at the look of absolute sorrow that fell across her beautiful face. Without a word, he steeled himself and strode forward to the base of the tree. The spirit halted him a few feet away and he set her down on her feet. He made to help her stand but she brushed him aside, insisting on standing on her own. She stared up at the tree with sad eyes before she turned to look at Link. She reached a hand out to him which he took and sent him a single clear message.

 _Wait._

Link met her eyes once again and nodded once to indicate he understood. At his nod, the spirit did something that she hadn't done once since they had met.

She smiled at him.

It was small and gentle, but unmistakable for what it was. Link returned the gesture and watched as she turned away from him and moved to place her hands on the tree's trunk. He watched in amazement as she sank into the wood as if it was water, completely disappearing into it.

"Well then…" Spryte announced. "That was neat."

Link nodded in agreement, continuing to stare at the spot she had entered. After a while he turned away and moved over to spot on the grass to make himself comfortable.

"She told me to wait," He stated to his partner as he sat down. "Might be here a while. Wake me if anything happens."

"Ok," Spryte laughed as Link laid out flat on the ground and promptly fell asleep.

xxx

"Link…wake up," Spryte lightly smacked her partner's cheek. "You need to see this."

"Hmm?" Link mumbled, slowly cracking an eye. "What *yawn* is it?"

"Look at the tree."

"Huh?" Link sat up and turned to look at the tree. "Whoa!" he gasped in awe.

The tree, which had looked so close to death before, was now healthy and strong; it's leaves practically sparkling green with life.

"That's…impressive," Link whistled lowly. "I think it's safe to say she's going to be ok."

"Haha," Spryte giggled merrily. "Yeah."

They stared at the tree in awe for several minutes. Suddenly they felt a…shift in the air.

"Huh…" Link glanced around. "You feel that, Spryte?"

"Yeah…" Spryte nodded.

A few seconds passed and then they felt it again. It felt like a ripple in the air...an almost imperceptible swell. It wasn't a breeze that caused it or a heavy impact of some sort, it wasn't that kind of feeling. It felt more…intangible…like the feeling of certain emotions floating between people in a room, only not quite the same.

They felt it again moments later and Link turned his attention to the tree. The ripples seemed to emanate from its base. He focused carefully for the next wave and when it came he noticed it take a physical form. He watched the pulse spread out from the tree as the tiniest shift in the grass and leaves. It was so subtle that had he not been focused solely on it, it would have been impossible to see. The pulse washed over them, shifting the grass and leaves on the other trees and bushes by the barest of margins.

"What is that?"

"I don't know…" Spryte whispered uncertainly. "But it feels like…a call of some sort."

"A call? You mean like a signal?"

"Yeah."

"A signal for what, I wonder?" Link mused.

The tree continued to pulse at varying intervals, each one washing over them like shiver through their bodies. They couldn't figure out the reason or purpose behind them, but they hoped to soon find out. After about half an hour or so, the pulses suddenly stopped. Link stood up after a moment, expecting something to happen. He wasn't disappointed.

A lilting giggle echoed around them, emanating from the tree. Link and Spryte turned their attention to the tree to see the forest spirit step out into the open. Their eyes widened in surprise and Link's breath hitched at the sight.

The spirit was beautiful. Gone was the weak, wilted, and dishevelled woman who had entered; replaced by a healthy being of radiant magnificence. Her smooth, supple skin was now purely a light shade of green, free of the brown blemishes, which seemed to sparkle in the sun. Her hair was long and flowed around her in shimmering waves of forest green streaked with gold and thin leafy vines wove through it and sprouted flowers of the purest white. The spirit's clothing was also restored, consisting of a thin practically see through green filament that stretched between more leafy vines which wrapped around her curves in a manner that would be impossible on a normal human. Her clothing fully covered her modesty but still portrayed an impossible mix of sensual innocence that made her seem like a goddess too pure to be touched by mortal men.

Not only was her physical presence glorious, but the aura about her filled the air with life and vitality. If all forest spirits were like her it was no wonder that the Forest Vulcan's had hunted them. Link had known she was beautiful before and had suspected she would only grow more so after being restored, but nothing could have prepared him for this.

His eyes met hers, brilliant golden irises that glowed with vitality and strength, and he had to force himself not to take a step back. He was forcefully reminded of his first encounter with a Great Fairy, except this creature was even more beautiful. It was incredibly intimidating.

The spirit smiled at him again, a gesture that literally stopped his heart for several seconds, and moved towards him. She didn't walk so much as glide forward, moving with ethereal grace and elegance. When she stood before him Link saw that she was about a foot and a half taller than his current body, which would make her a little shorter than his adult body would be in the future. That casual thought passed by immediately when she bent down and wrapped her slender arms around him in a warm embrace. Instantly his mind was flooded by feelings of intense gratitude and care, the depths of which were overwhelming in their scope and sincerity. A part of him wanted to push away from her, so intense were the feelings, but the rest of him adamantly refused to move. Unfortunately what started out as a pleasant experience quickly turned harrowing as his mind tried desperately to keep up with her emotions.

When she finally released her embrace and pulled away slightly, keeping her hands on his shoulders, her joyful expression transformed into a frown when she saw his pallid, sweating face, and heavy breathing. She stared at him in confusion for a bit before turning her head to Spryte who was floating next to them.

The little fairy blinked in surprise when she felt the spirit touch her mind without the need for physical contact. Her renewed strength must have eliminated that necessity. It took her a second to catch up but soon realized that the spirit was asking her about Link's wellbeing. She giggled slightly before explaining that Link, as a mortal, was probably having trouble dealing with her way of communicating. This caused the spirit's frown to deepen and she cocked her head to one side in thought. After a moment she smiled again and turned back to Spryte. After a brief explanation of her intent, Spryte turned to Link in order to convey her message.

"I'm sure you've figured this out already, but she's very grateful to you for saving her."

"Yeah," Link said dryly. "I kinda figured that much…"

"There's more to it though," Spryte continued soberly. "She owes you a great debt and that is no small thing amongst her kind."

"She doesn't owe me anything," Link shook his head immediately, meeting the spirit's golden gaze. "I would have done that for anyone."

At his words the spirit once again turned to Spryte who provided a translation. The spirit's face lit up in a smile once again and she let out a tinkle of laughter.

"What?" Link turned to Spryte with a confused expression.

"She likes you," Spryte giggled after another silent conversation. "You're quite the charmer apparently."

"What do you mean?"

"Well…hmmm...how to explain…" the Fairy mused aloud for a moment. "Basically since she owes you her life and has deemed you worthy, she wants to…bind…yeah I think that's the best way to describe it, bind herself to you."

"Whoa, wait what?!" Link's head snapped over to her. "What do you mean 'bind herself to me'? What in the name of Din does that mean?"

"I'm not one hundred percent sure myself," Spryte admitted. "But remember that book we read about some wizards having familiars?"

"I think so…those were magical servants or helpers right?"

"Yeah, that's probably the best way to describe our situation now…from what I can tell she wants to be your familiar spirit. She'll be there to serve and support you in any way she can."

"Wha-?" Link's eyes went even wider. "But isn't she tied to this forest? I seem to recall something about her ALMOST DYING from being away from it!"

"Well that's true and she'll always be stronger in the forest, but by binding herself to you she can draw off your magic to survive instead. There are other benefits as well, not the least of which is the fact that you'll be able to communicate."

"Really?" Link turned back to the spirit in front of him. That part intrigued him at least, though he was uncomfortable with the rest of it.

"Yeah," Spryte nodded. "At least that's what she says."

"And how do you feel about this?"

Spryte shrugged. "It's not really my place to decide. I can't say I really see much difference between this and our relationship or the relationship between all Kokiri and their fairies either way."

"But I'm not actually a Kokiri…"

"Doesn't really make much of a difference at this point," Spryte waved dismissively. "You were raised as one, you still dress like one, and you still intend to live in the forest like one. You might not be a true Kokiri by blood but you're definitely one in spirit. I'd say you're an honorary one at the very least." She shrugged again. "Besides, aren't I your third fairy partner anyway?"

"Well yeah, but that's different isn't it?"

"In some ways maybe, but in others…not so much."

Link sighed in frustration. "Tell her I appreciate the offer but it's ok, she doesn't need to do that for me."

He smiled gently at the spirit and tried to brush her hands away. He was quite surprised when she abruptly seized his hands in a surprisingly strong grip, her eyes wide with something…frantic in them. Link was brought to his knees when a sudden surge of panic, grief, and desperation slammed into him.

"Link!" Spryte shouted in alarm and sent a sharp rebuke to the spirit who recoiled almost instantly, backing several steps away from the young Hylian. "Are you ok?"

"She…really wants this…" Link gasped after a moment. "That was…not pleasant."

"It might be crueller of you to turn away from her," Spryte added. "You'd leave her with a debt she cannot repay, and spirits like her hold those to a different standard than humans."

"I see…" Link sighed and stood up straight. He stared at the spirit for a long moment before sighing heavily. "I guess if this is what she truly wants…I won't object." He looked at the spirit again who returned his gaze with one full of hope. He smiled at her and reached out his hand. "Tell her I accept."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth then the spirit was in front of him, beaming with radiant delight. She entwined her fingers around his left hand and closed her eyes. A golden glow soon emanated from their hands, turning into ribbons of light that snaked around and up their arms. The beam that wrapped around Link coalesced around his upper arm, weaving itself into an intricate vine armlet tattoo the same color as the spirit's hair. The light that wove around the spirit was a little different. It spiralled up both her arms as opposed to just Link's left, leaving behind swirling lines of gold that spread up her arms and across her collarbones. They then gathered at the center of her forehead and drew a tear shaped leaf symbol before finally dissipating.

Link blinked a couple of times as the light died down, a strange new sensation filling his body. He stared at the spirit who returned his gaze with an affectionate smile.

'Thank you.'

Link blinked again. "Wha- did you just…speak?"

The spirit laughed lightly. 'In a way I suppose you could say that. Thanks to our bond, our ways of communicating are filtered into something the other can understand. I'm not really speaking to you so much as you are now able understand me and vice versa.'

"I see. So does that mean I can talk to other spirits too?"

'No,' She shook her head. 'Only me for now. But you can probably learn to do so given time.'

"I might have to look into that," Link rubbed his chin. "Anyway I still don't think you needed to do this, but it obviously meant something to you so I won't argue."

'Thank you once more,' the Spirit hugged him once more. 'I had lost hope that I would ever see the trees again. I owe you a debt I can never truly repay.'

"I didn't do it for any reward. I would have helped anyone in that situation of my own free choice," Link stated. "But what's done is done, there's no point in arguing about it. I'm just glad that you're all right now. You had us worried." He smiled again. "My name is Link and this," He gestured to his fairy partner. "Is Spryte."

"Hi!" Spryte greeted cheerfully both aloud and in the spirit's own language.

'Pleased to meet you both! I am called Lyre."

"That is a beautiful name," Link smiled at her.

'Thank you.'

"So what happens now?"

'Now, you meet the others.'

Link blinked. "Others? What others?"

Lyre didn't need to reply. As if on cue, he sensed several other presences surrounding them. He looked around curiously, unsure of what to expect, and had to forcefully resist the urge to gape as he watched more forest spirits step tentatively into view.

"Whoa…" Spryte breathed in astonishment.

"Lyre?" Link raised an eyebrow to his new familiar, a question plain on his features.

'I called them here. I wanted them to meet you.'

' _Well that explained the pulses from the tree earlier,'_ Link thought as he watched the other spirit's tentatively approach. They looked very similar to Lyre, though none of them were completely identical. There were differences in height, colors of flowers in their ensembles, and skin tones that varied between various shades of green and brown. All of them were remarkably beautiful and all of them looked at him with varying degrees of wariness.

"Oh?" He turned back to Lyre. "Why?"

'Because of what you did for me,' She replied. 'We've been hiding from the monsters for so long…I doubt humans even remember we exist, more so since we avoided your kind as much as we could before then. But after the monsters came it was almost impossible for us to leave our trees without being caught.' She sighed sadly and then gestured to the bodies of the Vulcans nearby. 'What you did to them…we…have no concept of…We could do nothing but run and watch even as they tore us away from everything…'

"You don't know how to defend yourselves?" Link was surprised. He had felt the power Lyre possessed when they had bonded and it wasn't insignificant. If Lyre was an example of the norm then the spirits should have been more than strong enough to defend themselves from any number of Vulcans.

Lyre shook her head lightly. 'It is against our nature to bring harm to another. We nurture and guide the forest and its creatures. We understand the balance of predator and prey but such a cycle poses no threat to us. But these…monsters are not part of that cycle and we have no means of stopping them.' She bowed her head sadly. 'Even if one of us falls to them, the rest can only watch…"

"I see…" Link nodded slowly. He understood their predicament in a way. While it was surprising that beings of such power were helpless before creatures as mundane as a Forest Vulcan, he could understand it. Vulcans were physically very strong and surprisingly fast. If they had no regard for the sacred nature of the forest spirits it was easy to see how they could be a threat to things that had no concept of how to defend themselves despite their power.

Their situation reminded him a bit of Zelda's predicament during his alternate life. Being the sole surviving monarch of Hyrule during Ganondorf's reign, Zelda held far more power than Link did. The power to lead a country was far greater than anything Link could do, yet she had been utterly helpless against the King of Thieves' machinations. While it was true that she knew how to defeat him, Zelda couldn't make those plans happen. She had needed that one vital piece to come to the board, a piece she waited seven long years before she could move. Lyre's situation wasn't quite the same, Zelda was a very capable fighter in her own right, but there were similarities.

The young Hero of Time opened his mouth to speak but paused as he considered what to say. He had been about to say that he could teach them to defend themselves but something Lyre said stuck out to him. She claimed it was against their very nature to hurt another creature. If that was the case then Link wasn't sure that they could even learn to do so at all. Supernatural beings tended to be rather unchangeable in that way. With that thought in mind, Link made a decision.

"If that is the case, then let me fight for you."

Lyre's face lit up with rapturous joy. 'Would you?'

Link nodded and Spryte squealed with delight, clapping her hands rapidly.

"We were planning on living in this forest anyway," Link said. "I don't see why I can't help you while I'm here."

'Oh thank you!' Lyre threw her arms around him in a tight embrace causing Link to blush at the contact.

"You just can't resist a pretty face can you, Mr. Hero?" Spryte giggled.

Her laughter only increased under Link's glare.

"Looks like the others are coming to express their appreciation as well," the little fairy said as she watched the other spirits come forward more quickly. "I'll leave you to it."

She fluttered up to the branches of a nearby tree to enjoy the sight of Link awkwardly trying to escape the attention of a group of ethereally beautiful spirits he couldn't understand.

"I wish I had a recording lacrima…"


	5. A Lesson in Taking Over

The Legend of Fairy Tail

Chapter 5:

A Lesson in Taking Over

xxx

"Forest spirits you say?" Makarov eyed Link with a thoughtful expression. "It sounds like you've had a very interesting time in those woods my boy. I take it that's why you've been gone for so long without having taken on a job?"

"Yeah…" Link sighed heavily as he sat on a barstool and nursed a glass of milk. "I've been busy helping establish a safe haven for Lyre and her sisters from the Vulcans."

"I'll bet that's a difficult task."

"You have no idea," Link shook his head in exasperation. "I have to go out with Lyre to where each spirit's home tree is located and then persuade them to sever the ties to that tree and follow us back. Doing that not only takes a surprisingly long time but those Goddess damned apes come out in droves whenever a spirit is away from their tree. Frankly I'm surprised as many of them responded to Lyre's call as they did. I swear…If I hadn't already killed most of the Vulcan's in the area before then I doubt any of them would have shown up at all."

"From what you describe, it does indeed sound like they took quite a risk," Makarov nodded sagely. "I am glad that you have taken it upon yourself to help them. I would never have guessed that such creatures existed in those woods. Quite remarkable."

"Really?" Link quirked an eyebrow. "There wasn't even any rumors or local stories suggesting their existence?"

"Not that I know of."

"Huh. That's surprising. I would have thought that a world full of magic like this would be a lot more aware of things like that."

Makarov chuckled and took a swig from his mug of ale. "This world is a wondrous and mysterious place. There are many things that have yet to be discovered by anybody. The possibility of finding something new and exciting even in a place as settled as Magnolia always exists."

"I suppose…" Link nodded slowly.

"Don't sound so disappointed lad," the old man chided. "Discovering these new secrets of the world is part of the spirit of adventure that Fairy Tail embodies. Who knows how many other such creatures like your forest spirits exist? There are many creatures of similar nature that we know of: Demons, Dragons, Celestial Spirits to name a few. But there are also many things that we don't know exist and only speculate upon. We even name some of our guilds after them such as Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, and Lamia Scale."

He tilted his head to stare up at the ceiling.

"No one has confirmed the existence of any of those creatures, yet we still possess a concept of them. That knowledge had to have come from somewhere so perhaps they were once known but, like so many things, were lost to the passage of time. Who knows," He shrugged. "Perhaps you will be the one to find out."

"What makes you say that?" Link asked curiously.

"My boy, you've only been a member of this guild for about two months and you've already discovered the existence of forest spirits that no one even knew about. Not only that but one of them is now a magically bonded familiar, something that few wizards have at all these days, and have established rapport with several others. You haven't even left Magnolia's borders yet! I don't doubt that there will be many other things you come across once you actively start leaving the city and forest."

Link stared at the old man for a long moment before shrugging and downing the rest of his milk.

"Guess we'll find out."

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and turned to track down his absent partner. He spotted her easily enough thanks to her ever present glow off to one side of the guild where she was playing with Mirajane's younger sister Lisanna. He made his way over to the pair who were giggling rather loudly.

"Oh Link!" Lisanna beamed at his approach. "Look what Spryte can do!"

"Huh?" Link blinked in surprise at the sudden exclamation and watched with interest as his partner gestured to the young girl. Lisanna immediately lifted off into the air to hover about a foot off the ground. His eyes widened at the sight and he turned a questioning look at the fairy.

"You can do that?"

"Uh-huh," Spryte grinned cheerfully. "It's really easy actually."

Link snorted and shook his head absently. "I swear, Spryte, the things you come up with…"

"What?" the little fairy huffed indignantly and stuck her tongue out at him. She made another quick wave of her hand and let Lisanna fall back to the ground. "You're just jealous that I'm picking things up faster than you."

It was true. Not the part about Link being jealous, he was learning new things all the time and at a rate that he was perfectly satisfied with given all that he had to do in the meantime. But the two of them had quickly discovered that the young fairy was uniquely suited to learning magic.

Whenever Link or any of the others used magic they had to focus on the energy they felt inside them and channel it with their will into the desired spell. Spryte had the unfair advantage of not only being acutely sensitive to the feel of magic around her, but she could actually SEE it as well. She could see the flow of Ethernano, and magical energy in general, as well as the effects of applying one's will to it. Spryte could channel and focus magical energy as easily as breathing, manipulating it like it was as much a part of her as her wings.

It was really unfair.

The fact that she could play around with magic while he trained or did other work besides his own magical studies ensured that Link had to give up trying to keep pace with his partner.

"Just…be careful," Link sighed. "I'd hate for Lisanna or anyone else to suddenly explode."

"Hey! That was one time!"

"Spryte," He deadpanned. "You lit my hair on fire. What in the name of the Goddesses made you think that playing with magic under my hat was a good idea?"

"I told you…" Spryte muttered sheepishly. "I was just weaving patterns and decided to…tweak it a bit. I didn't know it would pop like that…"

One of the things that the little fairy had started doing for fun was to gather magic energy between her fingers and play with it like a children's string game. She claimed that it was interesting to see how the magic changed based on the ways she twisted the energy around. It didn't take long for people to point out that she was essentially creating her own magic circles from scratch, a feat that had left Makarov speechless for a full minute when he saw it.

"And that's why I say to be careful." Link sighed. "Accidents like that can be dangerous."

"I said I was sorry…" Spryte pouted cutely. "It's growing back and you can't even tell it happened when you where your hat."

"Not the point."

"Fiiiiine…I'll try to be more careful. Spoilsport."

Link chose to ignore that last statement and turned his attention to Lisanna.

"Try not to encourage her too much."

Lisanna giggled in response and smiled brightly at him. "You worry too much, Link. Learning magic is supposed to be fun."

"Fun until someone burns the guild hall down," Link muttered.

"Heehee if anyone is going to do that it'll be Natsu, not Spryte."

"You have a point there. Where is he anyway?"

"I think he went fishing with Happy."

"Oh?" Link raised an eyebrow. "How come you didn't go too?"

"Well sometimes the boys just need to have time to themselves while us girls," She gestured to Spryte. "need to have some time to ourselves."

At that Link laughed then reached out to ruffle the younger girl's hair. "You know sometimes you really act like the family you three pretend to be."

"Hey!" Lisanna huffed. "It's not pretend! I'm the mommy and Natsu's the daddy! We did hatch Happy together, didn't we? That makes us his parents."

"If you say so. " Link chuckled again before changing the subject. "How are you doing with your ocarina?"

"Great!" Lisanna beamed. "I've already memorized the last exercise you showed me."

"She's learning quickly," Spryte chimed in as she fluttered down to sit on Link's head.

"Really?" Link grinned. "Well then let's go work on the next one."

He led her over to one of the nearby tables and took a seat, summoning his ocarina as he did. Lisanna dutifully sat in a chair opposite him so they faced one another.

"Now, show me what you've learned so far."

Lisanna nodded and withdrew the wooden instrument Link had given her when she had shown an interest in learning to play. She brought it to her lips, closed her eyes, and blew out the simple sequence that Link had tasked her to memorize.

"Very nice," He nodded in approval. "Now try this."

He put his own Ocarina to his mouth and blew out a slightly more complex series of notes. Lisanna watched and listened carefully as he repeated it twice for her. The young girl nodded slowly to herself and tried to imitate the sequence. She played much slower than Link did, trying to get her fingers to move to the correct positions in the unfamiliar pattern. Link always made her strive for accuracy above all else, speed would come later.

Lisanna frowned when she flubbed a note and stopped playing.

"Not bad," Link smiled at her encouragingly. "Try again. Remember to control your breathing; you want to be able to maintain a steady flow of air so that you don't under or overpower your notes. You also don't want to make it obvious that you're pausing for air and that's harder to do when you play too long and need to take a deep breath."

"Ok," Lisanna nodded and tried again. She managed to go through the whole sequence this time without a problem but missed another note when she tried to repeat it.

"Good, good," Link grinned at her. "Keep practicing that until you can go through it three times without a mistake then combine it with the last sequence you learned."

"All right," Lisanna smiled cheerfully. "I'll do my best!"

"You're getting pretty good at that Lisanna," A new voice stated proudly as another guild member joined them. They both turned to see Mirajane, Lisanna's older sister standing before them with her hands on her hips and a cocky smirk on her face. She turned her gaze on Link. "Though it still surprises me that someone like you knows how to play an instrument that well."

Link merely shrugged. "One of my best friends insisted I learn because she loved to play and wanted us to be able to play together. It was fun."

"I guess that makes sense," Mira nodded. "It certainly makes you more cultured than that red-headed bimbo."

Link frowned slightly at the remark towards Erza but didn't comment. He had seen enough of their squabbles to know they were bitter rivals, just like Natsu and Gray. In either case he couldn't tell if they actually hated each other or not due to the fact that they all participated in activities together in between their constant fights.

"But that's not why I came over here, blondie," Mira crossed her arms with a huff. "While I appreciate you taking care of my sister, there's something that I've been wanting to do for a while now."

Link raised an eyebrow curiously and waited for her to continue.

"Erza seems to think you're pretty strong, even though she beats you all the time."

That statement cause him to blink, unsure how to respond. It was true that he had yet to beat Erza in a spar, a fact that irked him to no end though he was humble enough to admit she was stronger, but he wasn't the one who sought out those fights. Erza had approached him each time to request a spar, stating he was helping her improve with every fight.

Little did he know that those constant spars with Link had inadvertently cut down on the number of scraps that Erza got into with Mira. At first this hadn't bothered the gothic dressed girl much, but after a while it felt like Erza was snubbing their unfinished rivalry and that pissed Mira off. When she had confronted Erza about it the red head had simply smirked at her and replied that she learned something new each time she fought Link and was getting stronger because of it. Of course that only infuriated Mira more and made her decide right then and there to fight Link herself and see what all the fuss was about.

Hence her current conversation.

"I want you to fight me so that I can see why she bothers."

The statement brought a startled gasp from Lisanna who eyed her older sister nervously. Link merely stared at her for a long moment before shrugging and standing up.

"Lead the way."

Mira smirked again and led him outside to the area that he and Erza usually ended up sparring. Lisanna and Spryte followed close behind.

"All right," Mira turned to him and cracked her knuckles. "Don't hold back now."

Link stretched out his arms in response and settled into a loose fighting.

"What are you doing?" Mira glared at him. "Use your weapons."

"But you're unarmed," Link replied.

"Puh-leease," Mira drawled sardonically. "I'm not some featherweight like Natsu and Gray. Trust me, you're gonna need them."

Link stared at her for a moment before shrugging again and requipped a sword, though he chose to forgo a shield, and dropped into a ready stance.

"Much better," Mira smirked as she bent her knees slightly and gathered here magic power. A dark magic circle appeared at her feet and her arms began to glow. The light broke suddenly and Link was surprised to see her arms had transformed and were now covered in dark purple flesh with brighter oval scale-like protrusions throughout and clawed hands. "Try not to die."

She blasted forward, fist cocked back to strike. Link gaped in surprise and hastily threw himself to the side. Her speed was unreal! He just barely managed to roll away from her attack and get to his feet before she was in his face again throwing punches with abandon while he desperately tried to defend himself, all with a cocky smirk on her face.

Link backpedalled quickly, keeping his guard tight in an attempt to deal with her overwhelming offense, and tried to find some opening to strike back. He managed to find a split second opening between her assault and dove forward, rolling around behind her into an attack of his own. Mira easily ducked under his initial swing but Link immediately followed up with a precise thrust.

His attack stopped dead when Mira caught the blade easily in one hand. Mira's smirk widened further at his bewildered expression before she thrust a palm into his chest and sent him flying through the air with a cry of pain. Link hit the dirt hard and slid back several feet before coming to a halt. He groaned and slowly pushed himself up to a sitting position. Her simple palm strike had felt like he had been punched by a Goron!

"That all you got?" Mira eyed him disdainfully, still holding his sword. With casual ease she tightened her fist and snapped the blade apart. "How disappointing."

Link's eyes never left hers as he staggered to his feet. He rubbed his chest a few times and took several deep breaths before he requipped another sword and held it up in a guarded stance, this one tighter than his first. He narrowed his eyes and focused, signalling his readiness for round two.

Mira smirked again and launched herself forward. This time her attack was deflected by Link's angled sword. The Take Over mage followed up with another flurry of attacks but this time Link was prepared for her. While she was still way faster and stronger, by keeping his defense tight Link only had to move his sword a fraction of the distance Mira needed to move her fists and he could deflect her blows, like he did with Erza, rather than take them head on.

He surprised Mira when he suddenly took a step forward, into her guard, and shoulder rammed her. She stumbled back a step and had to raise her hand to block a sword strike. Now it was Link's turn to attack and he unleashed a blinding flurry of short quick thrusts at the white haired girl. Mira blocked his attacks with little effort but she was given no room to counter.

Finally Mira was able to catch his blade again but before she could capitalize on the moment, Link let go of his sword and tackled her hard. She grunted in surprise as they rolled across the ground, having not expected the attack and was further surprised when the boy managed to get behind her and wrap her in a chokehold.

"Not…bad…" She grunted from the sudden pressure on her throat and reached up to grab his arm. "But not good enough."

Despite his leverage against her, she easily pried his hold apart and threw him over her shoulder. Link easily recovered rolling across the ground and scooping up his fallen sword as he did. He immediately began charging his sword with power, fully expecting Mira to attack at once. He was not disappointed when he turned to see Mira right on his tail. With a loud cry he unleashed the energy in his blade and struck with a blindingly fast fiery spin attack. Mira's eyes widened in shock and she barely managed to cross her arms in time to block before she was blasted back by the counter.

She landed on her feet and slid back a ways before coming to a halt. She uncrossed her arms slowly, wisps of smoke wafting away, and glared at him. "Hmph…Perhaps there is more to you after all."

She channelled more of her magic power, another dark circle appearing overhead. Her features turned more feral; hair growing wilder, ears sharpening to points, eyes taking on a more demonic countenance, and her legs transformed similarly to her arms.

"Take this."

She vanished from Link's view. Link's instincts screamed at him to move but he wasn't fast enough to avoid the crushing kick that Mira slammed into his chest. He cried out in pain and flew through the air. Mira appeared behind him and brutally knocked him upwards before intercepting him in midair again and smashing Link to the ground. He hit hard. Every bone and muscle in his body screaming in pain. It was only thanks to his Eternano strengthened constitution that he wasn't shattered.

Pain and adrenaline warred within him, somehow allowing him to stay conscious and mobile enough to roll away from Mira's meteoric punch that slammed into the ground where he had just been. The demonic Take Over mage immediately lunged for him once more, vanishing with incredible speed.

Something within Link snapped.

His pupils constricted. His posture shifted. The world bled away until only the fight remained.

Inhuman reflexes and instincts honed from countless life or death battles took control of his body and he moved. He spun low and fast, flipping his sword into a reverse grip and pulling it tight to his body. His feet shifted to brace for impact and he thrust the pommel of his sword forward.

A shockwave burst out as Mira suddenly appeared before him, doubled over with his sword hilt buried in her stomach. Mira's eyes were wide with the shock and pain from the abrupt halt, her mouth agape with spittle flying through the air. Time seemed to freeze for a moment before the young girl crumpled to the ground, heaving for air. She couldn't even cry out in pain.

In that moment, Link dropped his guard and relaxed his position. Mira was certainly in no shape to continue the fight, but he underestimated her resilience and stubborn pride. Despite her pain and lack of air, Mira somehow managed to thrust one arm forward and blast him point blank with a burst of dark magic. The Hero of Time was sent flying through the air once more to land unconscious on the ground.

Still gasping for air, Mirajane stared at his body for a long moment to confirm he was out cold before she lost control of her magic and her body returned to normal. She crumpled again, clutching her stomach tightly, and curled into a tight ball as she struggled for breath. The pain was unlike anything she had ever felt before in her life and the inability to get sufficient air into her lungs was complete and utter torture.

Her mind refused to focus on anything other than the agony and her attempts to recover, but she would later be forced to admit to herself that Erza was right: there was a lot more to Link than she realized.

Mira may have beaten Link in the end, but she certainly couldn't claim she won.

Xxx

The ride back to the forest was nothing short of agonizing torment. Link groaned with each step that his beloved horse took despite her careful tread. Every muscle in his body ached from the beating Mira had given him.

"You ok?" Spryte asked from the air, fluttering down close to him with a concerned expression. She had done what she could for him after the fight but there were some injuries that magic wasn't as good at dealing with compared to others. Cuts and broken bones were relatively easy to handle since the injuries were localized to one spot and merely required the injury to be knit back together. Blunt force trauma and overstrained muscles were much harder due to the wide spread nature of the problem. The fact that Spryte admitted that she wasn't the best of healers to begin with meant that Link was forced to suffer through an agonizing trip home.

A fact that made Spryte silently resolve to improve her healing, something she had thus far neglected in her various experiments with her new power.

"I'll live," Link moaned. "Thanks Spryte. You don't have to worry about me, I've had worse."

His partner gave him a sceptical look but didn't reply. Despite the overwhelming force Mira had doled out against him their fight had still technically been a spar. Being the Hero of Time meant that Link had most definitely been in far more life threatening situations than that and thus probably received appropriate injuries as well.

"It was a good fight though," She giggled. "You definitely gave her something to think about."

"Maybe," Link grunted. "Still have a long way to go."

"Why do you say that? You could have killed her with that last move if you had used the pointy end instead of the pommel."

Link sighed. "Technically true, but that's not the point. If I really had to I could probably kill just about everyone I've met in the guild so far except for the Master. None of them know what it means to fight to the death; to attack with killing intent." He groaned again and leaned back in his saddle. "But that actually makes them stronger. It is an easy thing to kill an enemy, Spryte. It is much easier to kill something than it is to beat it into submission, especially given the right tools and knowledge. But unless it's a monster or something these people don't even consider killing their opponent an option even if the reverse isn't true." He sighed again. "I may be able to kill most of them now, but if I try to face them on their own terms I'll probably lose. I just don't have the power to measure up yet."

"But you're already a lot stronger than you were when you first got here and you gave Erza a run for her rupees even back then."

"I'm not dissatisfied with my progress, Spryte," Link chuckled lightly. "I'm simply stating that I have a long way to go before I can match up with them. I plan on being the best."

"Well as long as you're not gonna get all depressed on me…"

Link laughed again but stopped abruptly when his laughter caused the pain in his chest to flare up.

"Trust me, you don't have to worry about that," Link forced a tight smile as the pain ebbed away. "I had no hope of matching Ganondorf when I first met him but I eventually got there. This is no different."

"I sometimes forget how mature you can be," Spryte giggled and floated down to rest on the brim of his hat.

Link snorted. "That's the last thing I wanna hear from you! I may be in a kid body but I've been jumping through time for a while now. I'm older than I look and I had to grow up fast."

"I know, I know," Spryte laughed. "But you still act like such a kid sometimes."

"Just because I had to grow up fast doesn't mean I don't like having fun. I literally went from being a kid to a young adult in an instant and now I'm back to being a kid again. That's not exactly a normal development cycle."

"True, true," Spryte agreed, still giggling. "But that's part of your charm."

"Humph…I can't decide if I should be insulted or not…"

The little fairy simply grinned and leaned back to enjoy the rest of the ride in silence.

Link was content to let Epona pick her own way back to the area of forest they had been living in. She knew the way as well as he did so he wasn't worried about getting lost. It wasn't long before he could see the densely packed line of foliage that marked the border their home. As they approached the vegetation slowly parted to create an opening just large enough for them to pass through before immediately closing behind them. Link let out a sigh of relief as he took a breath of the rich air that that permeated the area.

The glade was large and beautiful, with lush grass, flowers, shrubs, bushes, and trees all throughout. A surprisingly large stream ran through it and bent in one spot to form a decent sized pool before flowing back out into the rest of the forest. There were quite a few woodland creatures of various shapes and sizes wandering around, having found shelter in the area.

But the thing that made the glade truly special were the forest spirits that frolicked about.

They were spread all around the glade; some basking in the rays of the sun that shone through the canopy, several splashed in the pool made by the stream, a few chased each other around, and others danced amidst the flowers and butterflies. Every one of them had a bright smile on their beautiful faces.

After Lyre had become his familiar, the two of them had gathered as many of Lyre's fellow spirits as they could and brought them to this glade. It wasn't as deep into the forest as they would have liked since Link needed to be within a reasonable distance of the Guild Hall, but the glade was large and deep enough that they were still comfortably hidden from the rest of the world. The spirits had immediately begun spreading their magic into the glade to nourish the area and reconnect with the forest. Having been in isolation for so long, most of the forest felt strange and wild to them and the spirits were quite a bit weaker than they apparently used to be. Even so, there numbers in such a small area soon had but their new haven flourishing with a life and vibrancy that the East Forest hadn't known in a very, very long time. To Link and Spryte it felt a lot like the Kokiri Forest within the Lost Woods of Hyrule.

Even though the glade was large, it was a tiny insignificant drop compared to the rest of the East Forest. The spirits had encouraged the vegetation surrounding the area to grow thick and wind together into a barrier that separated it from the rest of the woods. The barrier wouldn't keep out a determined Vulcan but it would give the spirits plenty of warning to hide before they could be captured. Benign woodland creatures could still find their way through in certain areas but other than that only Link was allowed to pass through at will.

In a way the Hylian was saddened that Lyre and her sisters were confined to such a small area but compared to the fear induced isolation they had silently endured for so long this little haven was an absolute paradise. The pure joy they radiated at being able leave their trees without fear never failed to bring a smile to Link's face; doubly so since the spirit's main form of communication was emotion based. They were certainly not glass-half-empty kind of creatures.

Unfortunately for him, Link had only an instant to take in this site before a certain spirit appeared right in his face and began bombarding his mind with sensations of concern and worry so fast that his familiar bond could barely keep up with the translation.

"Lyre! Lyre, I'm all right! Stop!" Link shook his head and frantically waved a hand to try and calm the distraught spirit. Regrettably these actions only served to remind him of how much pain he was in which caused Lyre's panic to increase which soon caught the attention of the rest of the spirits in the glade. Gritting his teeth against the physical and new mental anguish Link shot a hand out to seize Lyre's wrist, an action which shocked her just enough for Link to stare directly into her eyes and send her a message.

"It's all right. Calm down."

He gave her a reassuring smile and released her wrist. He should have known that the bond they shared would cause her to sense his injuries. If he would have thought about it he could have sent Spryte ahead to reassure her that he wasn't in any danger. Not that he blamed her for the concern. Link was literally her saviour and the guardian of her sisters. Without him they would be forced back into hiding, forsaking their newly found freedom and hope. Losing him would be absolutely devastating to them.

'You are hurt! What happened?' Lyre's thoughts were sharp and still very concerned though the panic seemed to be ebbing away.

"It's ok, just a little banged up from a spar with a friend."

'A…spar?' The spirit's concern was replaced with confusion from the unfamiliar concept.

"It's a practice fight between two people in order to measure their strength," Link tried to explain. "Injuries happen but we aren't really trying to hurt each other."

'Why would you do this?'

"It helps us grow stronger so we can better protect what's important to us."

'You fight your friends to become…stronger? Like the "training _"_ we see you do every morning?'

"Yeah," Link grinned at her. "Exactly like that."

'I…see…' Lyre tilted her head to the side, one of the quirks that indicated she was thinking. By this point the other spirits had gathered around them and were expressing their own confusion and concern. Since Link still couldn't communicate with them well, though he was getting better, Lyre had become the go-between for them and she turned to explain things to them in a silent but expressive discussion. Link was able to pick up flashes of the emotions and imagery that the others were sending around though he was unable to piece together what exactly they were talking about.

After a moment Lyre turned back to him with a gentle smile. 'We are glad that you are safe but we do not like seeing you hurt. Please let us help you.'

"Help me?" Link blinked in surprise. "How?"

Lyre simply continued to smile and helped him down from Epona. 'Come.'

Together Lyre and her sister spirits escorted Link towards the far side of the glade where the largest tree grew. This was the tree that Lyre herself had bonded with and the one that she had declared would be Link's new home soon. Spryte had shown her images of what Kokiri homes had been like as well as some of the homes that people in Magnolia lived in and the spirit was determined to create a place for Link to live that he would like. To that end she and the other spirits had been pouring their magic into this tree to make it grow until it would be large enough to suit their needs. At this rate it wouldn't be long before it was.

Once they were at its base Lyre guided Link down to the grass around the tree until he was laying on his back with his head resting on the spirit's lap. As he did the other spirits settled around them too. Link raised a questioning eyebrow at Lyre who simply giggled lightly and placed her hands alongside his head. After that she leaned back and began to sing, the other spirit's joining her, and sway gently.

It was not singing like one would normally expect. There were no words and the sounds they made couldn't be compared to the melodies that human voices could make. Their voices were those of the forest. The wind in the leaves, the songs of the birds, the flow of a stream…they sung the song of life and it was the most beautiful thing that Link had ever heard.

The young hero sighed deeply, closing his eyes as his body and mind were lulled into the deepest sense of relaxation he had ever felt. He didn't even register the magic that began to seep out of the ground and into his body, easing his pain and healing his bruises. It was different from the healing magic of fairies that Link was used to. That kind of magic involved a fairy using its power to directly heal the damage that had been done, restoring the body as if it hadn't been hurt at all. Of course the amount of healing was dependent upon the fairy's own power and so if the damage was too great then the fairy couldn't fix everything. The other downside was that fairy magic also prevented the body from growing stronger from the injury, which was why Spryte hadn't done anything for Link besides check to see how bad his injuries were.

This was different. This healing process involved the energy of the earth charging his body to renew itself at an accelerated rate, a procedure that Porlyusica would probably classify as natural regeneration if she had been there to witness it. Not that it really mattered to Link at this point. He was perfectly content to lie where he was and listen. When he finally opened his eyes it was dark, the sun having long set. Apparently this type of healing also took a lot longer than fairy magic as well. His eyes met Lyre's who was staring back at him with a benign smile.

'How do you feel?'

Link sat up slowly and stretched his arms out. "I feel…great!" He grinned. "Better than ever! Thank you."

'It was our pleasure,' Lyre continued to smile as she stood up, her sister spirits following suit. 'You have given us so much, we are happy to be able to return some of your kindness.'

"Well I really appreciate it, I feel like I could take on the world right now," He jumped to his feet with a light spring to emphasise his words and bounced on his toes a few times. "Which reminds me," he turned to face his familiar. "I'm going to be going away for a few days. I need to take a few jobs at the Guild Hall so I won't be back for a little while."

'I understand,' Lyre nodded once. 'We will be all right. We can hide if we sense danger.'

"I'm sorry you have to live like this…" Link huffed bitterly. "But I can't kill every Vulcan in this forest."

'Nor would we want you to. They have lived here long enough that they have become part of the balance. We could no more ask you to rid the forest of them than the wolves for the deer. But they are unchecked and the balance of the forest has tipped because of it. Thanks to you we can now work to restore it to what it should be.' She shifted to gaze fondly at her fellow spirits who were spreading back out into the glade. Some returning to their trees for the night while others found places to look at the stars. 'We do not relish the idea of being prey…but we will adapt. That is what nature does. It adapts to change in order to survive.' She turned back to him. 'We didn't have the time to do so before we were forced into hiding but thanks to you we now can. We have the chance to survive and for that we can never repay you.'

"Lyre," Link smiled gently. "I'm just happy to help. I couldn't save the guardian of my forest but I will do all I can to protect you and your sisters."

'Thank you,' Lyre bowed her head to him. 'But that doesn't mean you must stay here all the time. Go and do the things you must outside of this forest. Do not lament our situation, we are happy and we are free. We will be here when you return.'

Link nodded. "Perhaps when things have calmed down a bit more I could take you with me sometime. To see things outside of this forest."

'I would like that,' Lyre clasped her hands together happily. 'But not now. Perhaps when the Vulcans have learned to respect our territory enough for my sisters to roam this part of the forest freely, but until then I will stay here with them.'

"I look forward to that day."

'As do I.'

The light of the moon shone through the canopy and helped to illuminate the spirit's radiant features which Link couldn't help notice lacked a bit of its usual lustre.

He frowned slightly. "Are you all right?"

'Ah,' Lyre's face turned a bit sheepish, an expression that looked absolutely adorable on her. 'I am a bit tired.' She admitted. 'We are not as strong as we once were and healing you was more draining than I expected even with the help of my sisters.' Seeing his frown deepen Lyre quickly continued. 'Do not worry; it will be easier in the future. Like you our power grows a bit more each day, but for now we are limited to this.'

"I see," Link nodded. "You should get some rest then."

'I believe I shall,' Lyre nodded and strode gracefully to her tree. 'What is it that you say? "Goodnight"?'

"Yeah," Link nodded. "That's right."

'Ah, then goodnight Link.'

"Goodnight, Lyre." Link chuckled as he watched her sink into the trunk and disappear. After a moment he turned away and went to go find Epona and Spryte. After his rejuvenating healing session he wasn't really ready to call it a night yet. Maybe he would do some casual night fishing and catch some dinner.

Yeah, that sounded like a good idea.


	6. To Catch a Thief

Well back again after far too long. I've had a really rough year that killed most of my motivation to write even if the ideas didn't stop coming. Mostly dealing with an addiction that was causing some pretty bad marital issues. Still trying to get it under control but doing better now than I was.

This chapter is a little short but I hope you enjoy it anyways.

The Legend of Fairy Tail Revised:

Chapter 6

To Catch a Thief

X779

xxx

"So what did you need us to come for?" Link's tone was bored from where he sat leaning against the train booth window, his head rested on his fist. His words were addressed to the redhead sitting across from him who was staring thoughtfully at the job flier in her hand. The little ball of light that was Spryte hovered next to her ear while the fairy inspected the paper as well. Beside them the two younger Strauss siblings sat with different expressions on their faces. Elfman was shifting nervously next to Erza alternatively clenching his hands from time to time. Lisanna sat next to the aisle and was practicing softly on her ocarina with a beaming countenance. The eldest of the trio, Mirajane, was sitting with her arms and legs crossed next to Link with a self-satisfied smirk.

"Well it was only a matter of time until Erza would need to ask the assistance of a mage better than her," the white haired goth sniped at her rival.

Erza's only visible reaction to the jibe was the slight twitching of one eyebrow. After a moment she let out a low breath before folding the paper neatly and setting it aside. She gave Mira a sidelong glare before responding to Link's question. In truth Erza had only asked for Link to come along with her but she had made the mistake of asking him while Mira was within earshot. The white haired girl had jumped at the thought of her rival needing help and had insisted on coming along which, of course, made her siblings want to come along as well.

"I asked for your assistance because the nature of this job lends itself towards a cooperative approach rather than a forceful one. We're on our way to apprehend a thief that has been causing trouble in Oshibana. The local authorities have been unable to pin the culprit down despite multiple attempts so they are offering a sixty-five thousand jewel reward for his capture," She leaned back in her seat and folded her arms. "It is easier to corner a rat as a group."

Link nodded once and then leaned back in his seat, cupping his hands behind his head. He continued to stare out the window watching the landscape as they rolled down the tracks. His first time seeing the train had been quite the experience for both he and Spryte. Fiore had a significantly higher level of technology than anywhere in Hyrule so seeing such things were wonders to the two of them. Link had ridden on the train several times now but the experience still hadn't dulled. He idly wondered what Lyre and her sisters would think of the contraption, assuming they didn't already know about it. It was hard to tell since they had been in hiding for so long but the tracks that ran through Magnolia also went through the part of the forest so the spirits might be aware of them.

During his studies in Fairy Tail's library Link had found the forest spirits mentioned in a compendium of magical creatures. Well actually Spryte had found the book but they had read it together. The book was mostly full of speculation rather than actual facts about the various creatures inside; at least concerning the more 'mythical' ones that nobody was really sure existed. It went into pretty good detail about a large number of the known fauna in Fiore. The forest spirits he had become so well acquainted with were among the speculative category although the author had called them 'Dryads', a name that Link had used from then on. The author had speculated that creatures like the dryads, fairies, mermaids, and other such beings were far more plentiful in the world at one point but the ancient wars of old had either driven them extinct or into hiding. Seeing how the Dryads of the East Forest had been in hiding for who knew how long due to the sudden presence of the Forest Vulcans, Link was inclined to agree with him. It made him wonder what other creatures were still out there and if any of their situations were similar. He continued to ponder such thoughts while his fellow mages kept bickering.

"You need help to catch a simple thief?" Mira laughed. "That's rich!"

"I didn't say I NEEDED help," Erza replied icily. "Just that it would be easier. I would rather not waste my time on something so menial when the task could be solved much more quickly through a joint effort. Besides," She continued with a glare. "I don't remember asking YOU to come along at all."

"Like I was going to miss this," Mira replied glibly, Erza's comment only fueling her self-satisfaction.

"Big sis you shouldn't cause so many fights," Lisanna paused in her practice to give her elder sister a reproachful look.

The eldest Strauss almost looked chagrined for a moment before she scoffed and tossed her head.

"If the old floozy needed someone else for this job then she should have just left it for us."

"As if I would trust a hot head like you to handle something as delicate as criminal investigation," Erza shot back with a sneer.

"Are you saying I'm not smart enough?!" Mira was suddenly in Erza's face, the comment having finally touched her easily stoked temper.

"What if I am?" Erza snarled right back pushing her own face against her rival.

The two girls quickly began to shout insults at one another while trying to strong arm the other back into their opposing seats. Three of their four companions visibly slumped seeing the argument that they had all known was inevitable but secretly hoped wouldn't come to pass. The fourth had fluttered over to Link at the first sign of a sparking fuse and had settled comfortably with her legs crossed at the knee on the brim of Link's hat. She leaned forward with interest, resting her chin on her hand, and watched the drama unfold.

Link shook his head wearily, which caused a yelp of protest from his fairy friend, and turned his attention back out the window, ignoring the fight completely. He kept a half ear tuned to Lisanna's practice noting with a bit of pride how much the girl had improved. She was really quite gifted; a lot better than he had been when Saria had started trying to teach him how to play.

After a moment of listening while staring out the window, Link noticed Elfman watching his younger sister with a dejected look. He frowned slightly, wondering what could be on the boy's mind. Elfman was a kind and caring individual who loved his sisters dearly but seemed to struggle with his confidence. It was no secret that he was the magically weakest of the three Take Over siblings, only being able to transform his right arm for some reason. Lisanna took to her Animal Soul magic like a child born to it and Mira…well Mira had more problems keeping her power in check than anything else. It was a constant source of misery for Elfman and Link couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Apparently his younger sister's musical talent only added to his feelings of inadequacy.

Link was just starting to think of ways to help when Spryte leaned forward from her perch to look at him.

"Hey, as entertaining as this is, don't you think it's about time to break them up?"

Link quirked an eyebrow at her but a quick glance around at her gesture made the point rather clear. With a sigh he pointed his finger at the two fighting girls who had only escalated their argument and shot a little bolt of magic toward them. The missile burst into a bright flash of light right between their faces causing them both to yelp in surprise and jump away from each other. Shaking their heads in an effort to clear the spots from their eyes, the two girls turned to glare at Link. He met their gazes with his own impassive stare, uncowed.

In the few short months since he had joined Fairy Tail Link had somehow joined a rather exclusive club within the guild hierarchy as one of the very few, besides the Master himself, who could break up the fights between Erza and Mirajane. He wasn't really sure how that came to be given that he wasn't as powerful as the two girls. He sparred with both of them fairly frequently and had yet to decisively beat either of them, though he often gave as good as he got. Oddly enough he wasn't the one that sought them out for said fights; it was always the girls that came to him. Somehow, despite not being their magical equal, he had won both of their respects.

When he had asked the Master about it the old man had given him a rather toothy grin.

"It's quite simple my boy, you have more experience than they do," Makarov explained.

"What do you mean?" Link asked with a raised eye.

The guild master took a swig of his drink before giving Link a serious look.

"I know you haven't told them your whole story but they can tell you've been through a lot. You carry yourself differently and your eyes have a depth to them that none of your peers possess. They can sense on some level that you've seen and overcome far greater difficulties than they have. Those two have both had rather tragic pasts; ones they are still running from. Perhaps they can tell on some level that you overcame what they could not and that draws them to you. You might not be as strong as them right now, but you possess inner strength and wisdom far greater than theirs and that attracts them to you."

"I…guess that makes sense…" Link replied slowly with vacant, haunted eyes.

"It also helps that you give them both a run for their money through sheer skill despite their power." The Master chuckled at him. "There isn't anyone else in your age group that can do that."

After the old man had explained things to him, Link had settled into the unique position within the guild hierarchy that he unwittingly found himself in. It was a rather interesting experience for him. Link had never really fit in with the other Kokiri while growing up. Most of them didn't openly dislike him but he was always considered somewhat of an outsider. During his adventures he had picked up friends and allies along the way but Link had always been too busy to really sit down and build strong relationships for any prolonged length of time. Now however, his situation in Earthland had landed him in the middle of a group of eccentric people with nothing better to do than work on said relationships.

And Link loved it. For the first time ever he was truly starting to feel like he had found a place where he belonged.

His unspoken position at times like this really helped to keep the peace. A lot of the unwillingness of others to intervene between Erza and Mira stemmed from a combination of the girls' greater power and the sheer intimidation of their rage. Having one or the other level their wrath towards them was enough to cow even the most boisterous of the guild mages; having them both glare at you was nightmare inducing.

Link, having fought with and defeated far greater nightmares, was one of the few who could stare them both down, their gazes washing over him like water over solid granite.

He held their glares for several long moments before he spoke.

"That's enough you two; you're disturbing everyone else on the train." He rolled his eyes to indicate the area around them which caused his fellow mages in the stall to look about. He was right. The argument had intensified to the point where the two girls had started channelling large amounts of magic and their shouts had drowned out all other noise. The other passengers were either staring in their direction nervously or actively trying to avoid looking at them.

Both of the girls had the good sense to appear chagrined for a moment before they turned back to glare at each other. By some unspoken message between them the two female mages both huffed, tossed their heads and plopped back down on their respective seats so they could start ignoring one another altogether. Link snorted in mild amusement before turning his head back to the window, the tension in the air visibly lifting and allowing normal conversation to resume throughout the train car.

A flubbed note caught the attention of everyone in the stall and they all turned when Lisanna, who had not stopped playing during the whole argument, let out an indignant huff of irritation at herself before restarting her song.

Everyone laughed.

xxx

The mayor of Oshibana was a short, excitable man with a well groomed moustache who greeted the group with enthusiasm.

"Oh thank you young wizards for accepting our request!" He shook each of their hands with manic energy that somehow managed not to ruffle his custom tailored suit. "I tell you this thief has been a right nuisance to our poor town! Nothing we do seems to matter and we can't catch him!"

"What has he been stealing?" Erza inquired in a thoughtful tone that indicated she was in professional problem solver mode.

"A better question would be what has he NOT been stealing," the mayor sighed heavily. "He's stolen everything from paintings and sculptures to books, clothes, and even a basket of apples. It's gotten to the point where everything that isn't bolted to the floor is a potential mark for him. The only real comfort is the fact that he hasn't hurt anyone yet."

"That seems rather odd," Erza mused aloud. "So there is no discernable pattern to his thievery?"

"None that we can see. The only thing we know is that everything he has stolen has been considered valuable by the owners, even the apples."

"So he is taking objects of personal value as well as monetary?"

"It would seem so."

"Hmmm…then there is no way to tell what he will take next…" Erza began pacing back and forth as she thought. "How has he managed to avoid capture all this time?"

"He is surprisingly fast," The mayor replied. "He usually outruns his pursuers, laughing all the while, and every time we get close to cornering him the thief ducks into an alley or turns a corner and simply vanishes."

"He disappears?" Erza stopped her pacing and quirked a surprised eyebrow.

"Without a trace," The mayor nodded.

"Do you suspect magic then?" Link inquired from the side.

"What else could it be? We've checked for hidden passageways and other hiding spots."

"Interesting," Erza smiled lightly. "We will have to be on guard for any of his tricks. Since we have no way of knowing where he will strike next we will simply have to patrol the city."

"You are welcome to stay at the hotel just down the street. Rooms have been provided for you at the city's expense."

"That is most generous, thank you."

"My dear if you manage to apprehend this menace then it will be I who thanks you," the mayor bowed to her. "I will inform the authorities of the situation and they will coordinate efforts with you. If they catch wind of the thief then word will be sent to you at the hotel."

"That would be very helpful," Erza nodded again. "If you will excuse us, mayor, we will get started immediately."

"Of course, best of luck to you!"

They left City Hall and made their way to the hotel the mayor mentioned. After checking into their rooms they all met together to plan their next move.

"I believe we should split up to cover more ground," Erza announced once everyone was settled. "We need to speak with some of the victims and learn what we can of this thief."

"Someone should stay around here in case the police find him first," Link added. "Elfman and I can hold down the fort while you ladies explore the town."

"All right then," Erza nodded. "We'll reconvene later tonight to discuss what we have learned."

The two boys watched the girls leave before Link turned to Elfman and gave him a long thoughtful look.

"What?" Elfman asked nervously after a moment.

Link didn't respond right away. Instead he inhaled deeply before gesturing for the boy to follow him. Confused, Elfman hurried to catch up to his fellow guild mate. He found Link outside standing in a small park area next to the hotel.

"Link? What are you doing?"

"We need to talk, Elfman," Link replied flatly, crossing his arms. "I want to know when you plan on pulling your weight on jobs."

Elfman blinked in surprise. "What do you mean? I always try to help!"

"I know that," Link nodded. "You are a kind and helpful person but you are also weak."

Elfman flinched at that and looked away shamefully. "I know that…I know that my sisters are both way stronger than me…"

"Then why don't you do something about it?" Link asked. His tone was firm but not accusatory.

"I've been trying…" Elfman replied glumly. "But I just can't get the hang of the Full Take Over like my sisters. They're so much better at it than I am…"

"So?" Link snorted. "You can still fight can't you?" He shifted his stance and raised a hand to gesture at Elfman. "Show me what you got?"

Elfman blinked again. "What?"

"I said fight me!" Link glared at him. "Come on!"

Elfman took a startled step back before he focused his magic and lunged forward. His right arm glowed bright with magic power before transforming into a bestial fist. He swung with all his strength at Link but the green clad boy stepped into Elfman's attack and rammed a powerful uppercut into his gut. Elfman doubled over with a gasp and clutched at his stomach, loosing hold of his Take Over.

"That was slow, sloppy, and easily read," Link stated flatly. "Now get up and defend yourself."

The white haired boy slowly got to his feet and had barely managed to raise his head before Link was on him, throwing another powerful punch at Elfman's head. He yelped in surprise and stumbled backwards but Link kept coming following his first attack with another punch that knocked Elfman back to the ground.

"Come on Elfman," Link goaded. "You can do better than that!"

Adrenaline and instincts began overriding Elfman's surprise and timid nature as Link continued to attack him. He somehow managed to re-engage his Take Over in time to block another strong punch from the Hylian. Link took that moment to disengage and allow Elfman to catch his breath.

"That's better," he said.

"What…" Elfman gasped. "What was that for?!"

Link shrugged. "You're a Take Over mage Elfman. Magic naturally enhances your physical attributes no matter what type it is but Take Over is also a physical art, which means your strength is increased even more dramatically. You can take a hit or two."

"But why?"

"Because you need to get stronger Elfman," Link declared. "You're the weak link between your siblings when you should be the one protecting them both."

"But I can't! Even if I could do a full Take Over, Mira is just way too strong."

"So?" Link shrugged. "That doesn't mean you can't protect her. Just be strong enough that she doesn't have to fight the things that would threaten her."

"But how?" Elfman asked sadly, looking down at his arm.

In response Link took a stance and made a fist with his right hand. "I'm going to hit you with this hand. Try to stop me."

He didn't give Elfman a chance to reply before he darted forward. He tucked the arm in close to his body, hunched down slightly, and moved into Elfman's range with a quick weaving motion. He threw a quick jab at Elfman who tried to block the punch and counter but Link planted his foot, pulling back sharply and around Elfman's counter, before crashing a straight punch into the boy's cheek.

"Again." Link stated and charged again. This time Elfman tried to meet his attack with one of his own. Link sidestepped the blow, grabbed Elfman's wrist and flipped him over his shoulder onto the ground.

"Again."

They continued in this manner several more times. Each time found Link landing a direct blow against Elfman in some way. All with his right hand. Finally Link pulled back to give Elfman a break.

"You see Elfman? You don't need Full Take Over to be effective. If you can't do Full Body then get good at what you CAN do. I just beat you senseless using the same arm your Take Over affects. You can do that too. It's time to stop being sorry for yourself and do something about it. Man up and stop letting your sisters carry the weight!"

Elfman groaned and struggled back to his feet. He was battered, bruised, and weary beyond belief. He raised half lidded eyes to Link between gasps of breath.

"A real man turns weakness into strength," Link stated.

Elfman stiffened at that and then took a deep, slow breath. He straightened his posture as he inhaled and squared his stance. He exhaled in a loud cry of defiance and charged forward, his right arm changing once again into beast form.

xxx

"So what do you think about all this?" Spryte asked curiously from where she sat on Erza's shoulder. The armour wearing mage walked along the path that the thief had run after one of his heists, tracing his route to try and find some clues. This was the third such route they had taken, having spoken to several of the victims and local authorities alike. Some of them had been dubious about talking to a young girl but after she had shown them her official guild mark they had all freely shared what information they had.

"Well we know the thief is male and is targeting things of value to the owners regardless of their actual worth. We also know that he has never stolen anything without attracting attention and outruns his pursuers by losing them after ducking into dead-end alleyways. He seems to enjoy the chase as much as the actual stealing."

As she said this she turned to face one such ally entrance. There didn't seem to be anything particularly strange about the alley, in fact it looked fairly typical all things considered. Some scattered stacks of crates along the walls, a clothesline hanging between the buildings, and other random detritus decorated the otherwise empty dead end. The buildings on either side were rather tall and Erza had to crane her neck up to see how high they went.

"Do you think he went invisible or something?" The fairy asked.

"Hmmm," Erza mused aloud, raising a hand to her chin in thought. "Possible, but doubtful. Invisibility is a rather difficult form of magic…"

"It is?" Spryte cut in, surprised. Erza sighed.

"For humans, yes, it is." There was no doubt in her mind that if the fairy didn't know how to make herself invisible now then it wouldn't take her more than a few days to figure out. Spryte's magical experimentations and successes were becoming almost legendary amongst the guild. "If he is using magic to hide his presence it is more likely that he is using some form of camouflage rather than invisibility. Though that might not be how he is doing this at all. Do you sense anything out of place?"

Spryte took a moment to fly around the alley, pausing here and there to inspect things more closely.

"No…" She said slowly after a moment. "I can tell that magic was used here at one point, but not what kind or how long ago…It's faded too much. Just like the others."

"Unfortunate, but understandable. At least we can reasonably conclude that the thief is indeed a wizard of some sort."

"Yeah," Spryte agreed. "The magic used all feels the same so it was probably cast by the same person. Unless there's someone else running around and casting magic in the same alleys our thief is running through it's probably our guy."

"We'll have to figure out some way of either tracking him down or catching him in the act."

"Any ideas?"

The red haired girl shook her head. "None at the moment."

"How do you think the other two are doing?"

xxx

"Miraaaaa! Slow down!" Lisanna whined to her sister as she flapped her wings in an attempt to keep up keep up. She had to change into a bird form after Mira began charging through the streets at a breakneck pace.

"No way!" Mira shouted back. "I'm not gonna let that bimbo Erza catch this guy before me!"

"But you don't even know where to look!"

"All we have to do is find a shady character that knows how to use magic. After that we'll beat a confession out of him!"

Lisanna sighed heavily to herself…there were a lot of people in this city…

xxx

"I don't think we should rely on their contributions," Erza replied, her eyebrow twitching irritably.

Spryte laughed cheerfully and resettled back on Erza's shoulder. "So what's our next move?"

"If we can't find any solid evidence to help our investigation then we're just going to have to patrol around the city at night and see if the thief strikes again."

The fairy let out a long suffering sigh. "Awww maaaaan…that's gonna be sooooo boring…"

"Perhaps," Erza smiled. "But it is the best course of action we can pursue at this time. Without any discernable pattern we have no way of knowing what he may steal next."

"Well…in that case we should probably head back to the hotel and make some sort of plan."

"Agreed."

The pair made their way unhurriedly back to their lodgings to meet up with the others. They found Link sitting on the entryway steps casually playing his ocarina. Erza quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Where's Elfman?"

Link paused in his playing to shrug. "Last I saw he was sleeping in our room. He was pretty worn out."

"Oh? From what?"

"School of hard knocks."

"I see. And how did he do?"

Link shrugged again. "Not bad. He has potential, just needed a push in the right direction I think."

Erza nodded.

"So what did you find out about our thief?" Link asked.

This time it was Erza's turn to shrug. "Not much beyond what we already knew or suspected. It seems like we're going to have to patrol the city and wait until he strikes again."

"I figured as much," Link nodded and blew out a few more notes in the tune he had been putting together. After a moment he paused again. "Well nothing to do but wait then."

"But waiting is boring!" Spryte piped up with a whine. She fluttered over to Link's head and landed on his hat with greatly exaggerated ennui.

Link didn't miss a beat. "If he's using magic to hide himself or get away, how do you think we can stop him?"

Spryte sat up straight at that. "Huh, you know that's a good question." She lifted a finger to her chin. "It would depend on the type of magic he ends up using…hmmm…" She brought her hands up and began weaving a basic magic circle in the air. "If he's concealing himself with some kind of illusion or camouflage then maybe something similar to the Lens of Truth would work…I wonder if I can replicate that…or maybe identify the type of magic being used as he casts it…"

The fairy soon became lost in her experimentation and Link returned smoothly to his playing. Erza couldn't help but grin at the dynamic between the two of them. Link hadn't even paused to consider how to respond to Spryte's statement, he simply took the comment in stride and gave her a task that would occupy her mind for a good while as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

'They really make a good team,' She thought to herself and moved to sit next to Link so she could listen to his music. His playing had quickly become as much a part of Fairy Tail's atmosphere as the constant brawling its members did. It never failed to brighten everyone's day and Erza in particular had discovered surprising comfort in the melodies Link's ocarina produced.

It wasn't long before she had lost herself in the music, eyes closed and leaning casually against the step. Erza had no idea how long they remained that way but the approaching huffs and stomps of annoyance signalling Mira's return eventually broke her out of the reverie. She cracked an eye and smirked at her rival's dishevelled appearance and angry façade. Behind her poor Lisanna was swaying with exhaustion from trying to keep up with her elder sister.

"I take it you didn't find anything?" Erza asked rhetorically.

"Shut up," Mira snarled and stomped past them into the hotel.

Erza couldn't suppress the giggle of amusement that escaped her lips before she mastered herself and moved to help Lisanna. Sometimes it was just too easy…

xxx

Despite their best efforts to track down the culprit, several days passed without any progress being made. The close proximity and frustration from the lack of results made tension between Erza and Mira stretch to new levels of terror, even Link was having a hard time reining them in. Luckily the city was large enough that they could separate while on patrol otherwise a kleptomaniac would have been the absolute least of Oshibana's worries. Even so, if they didn't find the thief soon then the master would be receiving yet another reprimand from the Magic Council.

"ARGH! WHY CAN'T WE FIND THIS LOSER?!" Mira roared to the sky. The dark aura of her displeasure and frustration was so palpable that nobody within a twenty yard radius even dared to look at her. "I swear if I have to spend ONE more night in the same hotel as that red-headed bimbo I'm gonna crater this whole damn city!"

"Miraaaa!" Lisanna cried desperately. "Don't say things like that!"

"I mean it Lisanna! This guy is dead! DEAD! I'm going to kill him for this!"

Lisanna could only shake her head in exasperation. Her sister was beyond any reasoning. The only thing that would calm her down would be to catch the thief and deliver him to justice. She just hoped that Mira wouldn't follow through with her declaration; the job poster specifically stated he was wanted alive…

They continued to walk around the city streets, Mira grumbling the entire time, until the sun began to set with no luck finding their target. They were just about to call it a day when the high pitched wail of a police whistle cut through the air.

"Finally!" Mira shouted with glee and immediately dashed towards the sound.

"Hey! Big sis wait!" Lisanna cried out, changing into bird form to try and catch up.

Mira raced through the streets like a bat out of hell following the repeated sounds of the whistles from the local authorities.

"Oh yes!" She cackled. "I'm coming for you now!"

She rounded a corner just in time to see a laughing man running merrily away from a small group of officers. He wasn't anything special to look at, average height and somewhat lanky build with messy brown hair. His plain clothes and appearance made it so that no one who saw him would have thought he was a thief. No that little feature was given away by the brown sack thrown over his shoulder and the absolutely shit-eating grin plastered to his face as he ran.

"Hahaha! You'll never catch me boys!" the thief taunted over his shoulder. His merry jog easily kept him ahead of his pursuers and it didn't look like he was even putting forth much effort into it. No wonder he had managed to evade all pursuit before.

Mira chuckled darkly. Well unfortunately for him she was a little bit faster than normal people. She charged forward a smirk already stretching across her face as she thought about getting her hands on the reason she was here in the first place.

The laughing thief paused in his merriment for just a moment when he noticed the young goth girl racing towards him.

"Oh ho! What do we have here?" His grin stretched even further. "Isn't it passed your bedtime little lady?"

"I'll show you little!" Mira snarled channelling magic as she prepared to punch his lights out.

"Ah a mage is it? Come for my bounty no doubt," the thief nodded cheerily, never pausing in his stride. "Well you should be fun, catch me if you can!"

With that he suddenly turned just before he met up with Mira and darted down another street.

"COME BACK HERE!" Mira roared charging after him the thief's merry laughter only spurring on her rage.

She followed him through several roads and alleys never quite able to close the distance between them. Every time she tried he would either change direction suddenly or knock some obstacle over in her path. Finally he turned down a long narrow street with few things that could be used to block her.

"Got you now you little wretch!" Mira muttered and increased her speed. Soon she was almost within arm's reach of the still laughing man. "Just…a…little bit..mo-"

Her words were cut off when the thief suddenly turned another corner with a cry of 'Olé' and she crashed headlong into Erza. Apparently the red-head had been charging from the opposite direction hoping to pincer the thief before he made it to the side alley.

"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING YOU IDIOT!" Mira screamed in anger as the two rival mages struggled to untangle themselves from the ground.

"GET OFF ME MORON!" Erza roared right back

The two continued to shout and curse one another as they struggled to right themselves and only succeeded in getting in the other's way. There fight was cut short when a pair of overripe tomatoes suddenly splatted them both in the face. The two girls froze in sudden shock and disgust. Slowly, mechanically, they turned to see the thief grinning at them from the far side of the alley.

"Now now you two, it's unladylike to fight. Weren't you supposed to be chasing me? It's no fun if you start clawing at each other, although if you were a little older I might enjoy watching." He laughed uproariously at his own joke before turning to continue his run.

The two girls barely noticed him leave. They stood slowly, their figures hunched and their faces shrouded by their hair. Rotten tomato juice dripped from them to the dirty alley floor in tiny drops that seemed to echo around them in the silence. As one they turned to where the man had run off, a miasma of pure fury wafted off them, their eyes burning red with the promise of pain.

That man was going to die.

xxx

The thief's taunting laugh echoed throughout the city streets as he continued to run from the two powerful young mages now united in their need to end his existence. Unfortunately he was just too slippery for them to catch. He seemed to know the streets and alleys like the back of his hand and took great joy in lobbing random bits of garbage and detritus at them at every opportunity. After several minutes of this the Erza and Mira were both covered in bits of trash and they had long since given up on trying to be civil. Mira took every opportunity to try and blast the man with magic and Erza had several opportunities to bifurcate him with a sword by cutting through other streets. One only had to hear the explosions to know where the chase was happening, which was how Link and the others found them.

"Aiyah…those two are sure making a racket…" Spryte huffed.

"Well they have been really stressed out lately," Lisanna admitted. She had lost Mira fairly quickly after her older sister had charged off and had managed to track down the others to tell them they had found the thief. The four of them were now racing to try and help.

"Doesn't sound like they've caught the guy though…" Elfman huffed. "We need to help them."

"Hmmm," Link nodded. "We need to try and head him off. Let's move to higher ground."

With that darted towards one the nearby buildings and pulled out his hookshot. Without breaking stride he shot the chain out and pulled himself up to the rooftops. He turned to wave at the two younger mages, beckoning them to join him. Lisanna paused for only a moment before she shifted back into her bird form and use her talons to haul Elfman up to the roof as well. Link gave the two a nod of approval and started running and jumping across the rooftops. It didn't take them long to reach the chaos that was Erza and Mira's chase.

The thief in question was apparently having a blast evading the two livid young women. They watched in somewhat morbid fascination as a blast of magic from Mira was deftly avoided and what could only be some kind of stink bomb, if Mira's reaction was anything to go by, was returned. Erza fared no better as she tried to stab him from above only to miss and get a face full of egg for her troubles.

"That's…kind of impressive," Spryte admitted. "He's really quick and agile; no wonder no one has been able to catch him."

"Maybe so but they're both nearly S class wizards. If they just calmed down a bit they could probably catch him fairly easily." Link shook his head in mild dismay. He knew there was very little chance of that happening right now; maybe if they had found him a few days ago but not with the two girls' tempers so frayed.

"But he's not using any magic so how did he disappear into those alleys?" Elfman asked, squinting to try to see better.

As if in answer to his question they suddenly heard the thief shout out to the two girls who had basically been nothing but his evening's entertainment.

"Well it's been fun ladies, but I think it's time to call it a night. I'm getting a little hungry," He grinned at them and ducked down an alley out of their sight but unfortunately not of sight of his rooftop watchers. They watched as a magic circle appeared at his feet right before he shot into the air and up to the rooftops.

"Ah, Jump Magic," Spryte clapped a fist into her palm. "That explains it."

"Pretty straight forward actually," Link admitted. "Well if that's all he's got then we should be able to wrap this up easily enough." He turned to Lisanna and Elfman. "You two go get the girls and tell them where this guy is going. No doubt they're going to start fighting with each other if you don't. I'll chase after him."

"Right," Lisanna nodded.

The Hylian darted away after the man who had dropped back down to the streets below in order to further confuse any followers who may have seen him jump to the rooftops. Link stayed up high and managed to follow him fairly easily.

"Looks like he's being a lot more careless now," Spryte noted.

Link nodded in agreement. "He thinks he's gotten away."

"He's in for a bit of a surprise then. How are you going to catch him?"

"Like this," He replied holding his arm out as he ran. A brief flash of light later and he was holding a boomerang. He took a few moments to close the distance between them a bit more before he leapt forward into a long arcing side flip over the street. Half way through his spin Link snapped his arm out and flung the curved weapon towards the fleeing man. The spinning projectile arced through the air and struck the thief in the head with a resounding _WHACK._

"Bullseye!" Spryte laughed merrily as she and Link dropped to the ground. Link raised his hand as he walked forward in time to casually snatch his magical weapon on its return flight.

"Easy enough," Link nodded, bending down to look at the unconscious man at his feet. He shrugged and grabbed the back of his shirt to drag him off towards his friends. It wasn't long before the others rounded a corner to find him approaching with his prize in hand.

"Did you get him?!" Erza demanded angrily.

Link nodded and tossed the thief forward. He hit the ground with a grunt and groaned as the impact jarred him back into consciousness. What he saw when his eyes opened made him immediately wish he hadn't.

Erza and Mira were standing over him with looks of pure hatred and cracking knuckles.

"Eh-heh hey there ladies…fancy meeting you again…listen sorry about all that back there, I was just having some fun. That's all this whole thing has been really, just away to have some fun! I didn't mean anything by it."

"What about all the things you've been stealing from people?" Erza glared at him.

"Harmless knick knacks and stuff. I just wanted to see if I could get away with it."

"Well your thieving days are over now!" Mira declared, venom dripping from every word. "Now it's time to face your punishment!"

"Hey you two take it easy," Lisanna stepped in front of them in an attempt to block them from the now cowering man. "We caught him and our job is finished so we can just hand him over to the police now right?"

For a moment it looked like the two girls were going to push right through her to get at the thief who had made their night hell but if there was anyone that Mira would bend over backwards for it was her siblings. Erza was of a similar mindset to her fellow guild members and for a moment it looked like the two rivals were going to back down.

"So what did he steal tonight?" Elfman asked aloud and reached into the thief's bag and withdrew a pair of lacy pink panties.

Silence fell over everyone as they all stared at the article of clothing in Elfman's hand. The young boy turned crimson red at the sight and immediately dropped both it and the bag. The sack fell to the ground in a heap and they could all see that there were quite a few more examples of said clothing within.

And just like that whatever restraint that Erza and Mira had was gone.

xxx

"Well that was a pain," Mira grumbled under her breath from where she sat back on the train. After extracting their much deserved pound of flesh from the thief and turning him in, the group had received mixed praise from the mayor for catching the criminal and some rather pointed criticism for the destruction caused while doing so. In the end though they had been thanked and paid though Erza was rather worried that they would be hearing about it from the master after the official complaint that was sure to come from the Magic Council.

"Perhaps," The red head agreed. "But we managed to apprehend the criminal so the mission is complete."

"I guess," the goth girl sighed before stretching her arms out high. "I'm just glad we got to pound that creep into pulp."

"It was rather satisfying wasn't it?" Erza nodded in agreement. "I don't think I've ever been more incensed in all my life. I still don't understand where he kept all that garbage…"

"Right? Disgusting! I thought I'd never get the stench out of my hair."

As the two continued reminiscing over their recent unification against a common enemy, the others couldn't help but smile at them. The two girls were such bitter rivals that it was hard to imagine them being anything else but moments like this sometimes made the possibility of something more believable.

"It's nice to see them getting along for a change," Lisanna whispered to her brother.

"Yeah, maybe they'll start fighting a bit less now," Elfman nodded. "What do you think, Link?"

The older boy turned from staring out the window to look at them and then at the two girls sitting across from them. After a moment he shrugged and raised a hand with all fingers spread. Slowly he ticked them down one by one counting back from five. As soon as he was done he pointed towards the two girls.

"Of course we wouldn't have had that problem if you hadn't gotten in my way earlier."

"Excuse me?! I got in YOU'RE way?! YOU crashed into ME!"

"Only because you were too slow to catch him before that!"

"HAH! Not like you did ANY better you red headed floozy!"

"FLAT CHESTED HAG!"

"ARMOURED BIMBO!"

And just like that they were back at each other's throats.

The two Strauss siblings groaned and sagged back in their seats. So much for that…

Link merely chuckled to himself and turned to look back out the window. He let a contented smile tug at his lips as the argument between Erza and Mira blended in with the sound of Spryte snoring under his cap and he let himself relax amongst friends.

xxx

A/N: So yeah. Back again. Next chapter is probably gonna be in this fic again because I've had a few ideas burning in my head for it. Apologize again for the delay but it's been a rough year.


End file.
